Coming Undone
by Amilya Eclair Farron
Summary: [Hiatus] Alice had it all figured out, or so she thought. After waking from one dream, she's forced to struggle to awakening from this new, more dangerous nightmare. Especially because of the inmates who seem to have taken an interest in her. For bad or for worse...
1. Down, Down, Down

Author's Notes:

… I don't even know how my plot bunnies came up with this. But they did. I suppose they were inspired when I had been mindlessly doodling on my notes, during one of lectures, and I had ended up drawing Alice (from Country of Hearts) having a cup of tea with two Batman villains: Jervis Tetch and Dr. Crane.

It's been awhile since I've played _Batman: Arkham Asylum_, but it's been even longer since I've read the manga books of _Alice in the Country of Hearts_. So I apologize in advance if I have any information of _Alice in the Country of Hearts_ off. I tried to maintain their characterization down, but Julius I fear is… off. Then again he's only appearing in the first half of the chapter. After that, it's just Alice and the villains of Gotham.

Full Summary: "Arkham... City?" Alice thought she had it all figured out: she fell asleep, dreamt of a strange land known as The Country of Hearts, and finally woke up, or so she thought. Now, she must struggle to (re)awaken from this new, more Hellish nightmare-especially because of the inmates, who seem to have taken an interest in her. Either for bad or for worse…

Disclaimer: _Batman: Arkham Asylum_ & _Heart no Kuni no Alice_ (also known as _Alice in the Country of Hearts_) nor their characters belong to me; they belong to their respected owners. I only own the plot of this crazy story and any minor OCs that may be required to appear (e.g.: thugs, security guards, doctors, Tyger members, etcetera), nothing else.

* * *

Coming Undone  
_Down, Down, Down_

* * *

"Leaving without saying farewell to everyone?"

Alice Liddell spun on her heel, not expecting upon being caught in the act. And by _him_ of all people to have caught her, although it was a huge relief to see it wasn't Peter White—the traitorous rabbit—but still. She had wanted to slip away without anyone making a fuss over her decision, knowing that it wouldn't end well. Besides, this was a _dream_ and as _her dream_ she should have complete control over it. But she didn't.

_Doesn't_.

And it was all entirely frustrating. Because she was falling in love with the people of this place, even with their strange sense of life and that it was OK to kill when it wasn't and… and…!—she wished she didn't feel this tight constriction in her chest as she simply tried to _breath_.

"I… err…" Alice wrung her hands and looked at anything but him.

He didn't answer. Instead being patient with her and giving her the time she needed.

"It's just… why… what I mean is…" She bit her bottom lip and finally turned her eyes to him. "I have to go home." It came out as a whisper, a broken one, because secretly deep down she didn't want to leave this strange world with its strange laws and _everyone_. Her cheeks flushed and soon she found her vision to be blurry.

Julius stiffened and tried not to shift from one foot to the other. He never was good with crying girls. And the last time Alice had befallen to tears he had nearly suffocated her from the awkward hug he had pulled her into. A hiccup came from her and Julius rubbed the side of his head as he tried to think of something comforting to say. But it was always hard because never in his entire life had he had to deal with this type of situation before. It was only once she came along that he found himself in predicaments like this.

"I… I'm—s-sorry." She choked out and he felt a sweat drop on the back of his head.

"There really isn't anything you need to apologize for, Alice." He answered in effort to help her keep calm. Why were the waterworks happening anyway? Julius folded his arms over his chest and tried to think of something else to add. But alas his mind was blank.

"But… but I just _feel terrible_. I know everyone won't be too happy with me not saying goodbye, but I don't know if I can handle it. Especially with Peter…" Alice grumbled and wiped at her cheeks where a few tears had managed to escape. Even if she dared try to say goodbye to Boris, Elliot, the twins, Ace, there was a small chance that Peter would discover and seek her out and force her to stay. And no matter how much she wanted to she knew she couldn't. "I-I… I don't know what to do…"

"…" Julius eyes darted away from her for the briefest of seconds before back to her. "Alice."

Her body trembled as it suppressed unwanted sobs. After a minute, she lifted her gaze to him and sniffed. A lone tear trailed down her cheek and he strode over to her and—awkwardly, but not as bad as the first time—pulled her into a hug. He felt her tense and gave a small squeeze in hopes that it was one of comfort. The muscles in her shoulders relaxed after that which let him breathe an inaudible sigh of relief. It thankfully was.

"No one will be angry with you." He closed his eyes and wondered if his words rung true. Not even he believed it, but for her sake he hoped he did. All the card holders and faceless—well, a few didn't—cared deeply for her and loved her, in a sense. His arms gave another small, tight squeeze in hopes it would add effect to his words. If anything, most of them would feel dismayed. But never could any of them be angry with her.

Well… with the exception of Blood Dupre.

Ace had told him a few times the man had ended up putting the girl in distraught who he heard from Boris who in turn heard it from the twins and the March Hare. But from what he heard from the Knight's lips was that it was because she was here. And therefore he knew it would only please the mafia boss upon hearing her departure. Julius dismissed the memory and thoughts as he focused the moment that was happening _now_. "Besides, knowing White, he'll always see if you want to return for another visit."

Truthfully, he didn't know about that. But he wasn't going to tell her that obviously.

She pulled back and lifted her head up to his, smiling a small smile. "Thank you for everything, Julius."

He nodded and started to remove his arms from her until she latched herself onto him, squeezing his midriff and burying her face into the fabric of his shirt. He stood like that, arms lifted up and completely caught off guard. Then again, he sighed, he really should have known that was coming. Returning her hug with a small squeeze, Julius waited for a few minutes before finally coughing into his hand.

Quickly Alice detangled herself from him and a scarlet blush rose to her cheeks. "Sorry…"

"No, it's quite alright." He answered far too fast.

Flashing him another smile, Alice uncomfortably started to back away and towards the door. As the doorknob hit the middle of her back, she halfway turned and placed her hand atop it with her eyes still glued to his. Neither said a thing as they remained like that for the longest time before Alice cleared her throat and nodded at him.

"Thanks again for everything." She seemed unsure about the next sentence. "Take care of yourself, Julius. And please make sure to tell everyone to do the same. After all… when I come back for a visit, I am expecting to see them all again."

Julius nodded and let the corners of his mouth lift, "As the same goes for you, Alice."

Alice smiled a little more and waved before slipping out the door and descending the stairs of the tower. She didn't dare look back in case she found herself unable to leave. If she didn't do this now… she wasn't sure if she ever would. Her eyes moisten again and she willed the tears away as she finally reached the bottom, hurrying out and surveying the grounds before dashing off towards the forest. If luck was on her side she wouldn't run into Ace, returning from collecting more clocks, or Peter whose interest was to pronounce his love to her for the millionth time. Her feet carried her farther and farther into the trees and her lungs burned with each step.

Time seemed nonexistent as she continued to run, never once looking back, and keeping her eyes firmly ahead. She needed to make absolutely sure that when she stopped it was nowhere close to where others would be. Having to say goodbye to Julius had been hard and she couldn't handle having to say another one. Hopefully, Julius was right about what he said. But even then her heart twisted painfully in her chest.

_Stay focused, Alice. You _need_ to get home._ She clenched her eyes shut and snapped them open. The voice that had whispered in her head was right after all; she _needed_ to get back home. She had loved ones—well, her one caring sister really—who cared deeply for her too and they were probably sick with worry—at least, Lorina was.

Finally, when her legs could no longer carry her, Alice leaned against a tree for support. Sweat tickled down her brow, the back of her neck, and her lungs screamed. She took in shaky breaths and, with her back pressed against the trunk of the tree, sunk to the ground.

With a trembling hand she reached into her pocket and pulled out the vial that held the key to home. Inhaling deeply, she uncorked the tube and wet her lips. This was it.

It was now or never.

Closing her eyes, she lifted the vial to her lips and swallowed the substances held within. As if a rope was tied around her waist she felt like she had been yanked forward and screwed her eyes shut in an attempt to keep from feeling sick. Colors of sorts flashed and then a blinding light. The ground beneath her seemed to crumble and she felt as if she was falling into an endless pit. Her mind kept chanting 'home, home, home' and she felt sick and then her limbs felt like they were being pulled on from different sides before finally—

It stopped.

Her mind buzzed and she felt herself slipping into unconsciousness.

However, she downright _refused_ to be pulled into the deep subconscious of her mind and fought to open her eyes to discover she was in a dim lit area. Her fingers curled and she felt cold marble beneath her fingertips and suddenly realized that there was a man squatting in front of her with a look of pure admiration. Her back was pressed against something cold, like stone, and she gave a small wince.

Not from pain, but subconsciously knowing she was somewhere else.

What that 'somewhere else' was she had no idea.

Where exactly _was_ she?

"Alice, my dear, you've finally arrived!"

* * *

_12 Months Later, After the Joker Takeover of Arkham Asylum…_

Jervis Tetch, also known as the Mad Hatter, grinned proudly to himself; he had been handed his belongs—minus his brain control bands, but if his plan went correctly he would soon obtain more before leaving—and couldn't help but look forward to being released from the constraints of the gruesome Asylum and into a city where the criminals—Arkham Asylum inmates and Blackgate prisoners—ruled all.

Err, that is… it was a section of the city that had been paid in full, walls built around that owned land, by the once Warden—Major, now—for the criminals, thugs, and so forth to uphold their own society with one rule: "Escape and the Punishment is Death". Not too add the fact that guarding the perimeter of Arkham City was the group that was an enemy to them all, even to Batman.

_Tyger_.

_They_ would make it ten times worse and one hundred times unbearable.

Footsteps halting outside his cell door told him that it was time; he sighed. The Asylum may've been a dull and gloomy place, definitely not his cup of tea, but even with having to put up with the probing doctors and terrible cafeteria food, it was still like a second home. Plus, no matter how terrible the guards made for a simple, needed conversation they weren't as bad as the new ones who'd be replacing them. But he did find the idea of not having sessions with agitating doctors to be a blessing and also knowing he would no longer have to attend those painfully, slow group therapy sessions to be tenfold. He hated those even more; Joker always tended to crack jokes of him whiles the Riddler, too, enjoyed taunting him.

The only lone person that he was able to call friend was Jonathan Crane.

Yet he wouldn't be able to converse with the man any longer—hadn't, is more correct. There had been no sight of Crane since the Joker's takeover of the Asylum during that festival night and, if it weren't for the fact that no one had—has—been able to locate Killer Croc either, then the Hatter would wave it off and know the man had made his escape. However, that was not the case; Crane had told him—after he had accidently nearly spilt the recently brewing chemicals—that he planned on sending every person in Gotham to their knees as he released the fear toxins into the sewer. And it certainly didn't take a genius to figure out what happens to one who enters the Croc's lair.

Or did it?

Whatever the case, his gut instinct was telling him that a _crane _had been a _crocodile's_ midnight snack.

"OK, time to go, Tetch." Bill—one of the few lucky guards that had been able to survive Joker's takeover—said and motioned for him to come out as his partner stood, ready, in case he tried to make a break for it.

Releasing a disappointed sigh, Jervis Tetch stood from his cot and walked out of his cell; he took a quick glance because it was quite strange to know he would never see it—and the rest of this place—again. He knew if Crane was still about he would be hearing an earful of how stupid he was being, but at the moment he couldn't find himself to care. He would answer with that this place was better than where they were being taken to.

As the guards escorted him down the hall, Tetch placed a thoughtful look on his face before turning his head slightly to Bill and asking, "Would it be possible to make a quick stop in the Botanical Gardens?"

"No."

A mock look of being offended. "But I would like to see it once more before hauled off to this new home. Besides, it's close to being the forest I imagined in Wonderland." He restrained himself from flinching at the lie. _Never_ would that sorry excuse of a garden have the honor of being called part of Wonderland. "Besides… I think I left my tea set in there. It wasn't in this duffle bag I had received with the rest of my belongings. And I would very much like to have it with me. Teatime is the most important event of the day and should always be paid attention to."

David, the second guard escorting him, groaned.

"We're not stopping by the gardens, Tetch. We have strict orders to take you to the bus for transportation. That's _it_." Bill answered after casting a glance at his friend. This, in return, made Tetch stop in his tracks.

"But I _need_ my tea set! A Hatter _must_ have teatime!" He spurred with outrage. Did these fools truly not understand the importance of teatime? Or the great significance it had with the Mad Hatter? Then again, Tetch's eyes flickered from one to the other; these two didn't look like the 'reading type'. "It's part of his—_my_—need! Never has the Hatter skipped out on teatime. It's unheard of! And if _you two_ Jabberwocky are unable to comprehend what I have just said, then allow me to put it in simpler words," He sucked in a breath full of air and started to open his mouth again, ready to give them an earful that they _would_ be able to process in those tiny brains of theirs.

That is, if it had it not been for David, swearing darkly under his breath.

"If he starts speaking that gibberish nonsense—"

"'Gibberish'…!" Tetch felt his face grow red with rage. "How _dare_ you insult such masterpiece as 'gibberish'—you… you… _Bandersnatch…_!"

"—_that's it!_—"

"Prentiss, calm down."

"But—"

Bill shook his head in warning. It wouldn't do any of them good yelling absurdities at one another. And he really didn't want to receive any lectures from the higher-ups, especially from Cash. Mentally pinching the bride of his nose he let out a huff. If he didn't want a PO'd David along with a lunatic spurring nonsensical insults at them then the answer was a simple one that would only result in a small, minor headache.

"If we do go to the gardens, you swear to keep your mouth shut to there and the buses?"

"… Oh, you've got to be kidding me…"

However David's remark was ignored seeing as how, to prove he would, Tetch gave a grave nod. Bill rolled his eyes upward before jerking his head to go back the direction they had been coming from, in order to reach the East side of the island where the Botanical Gardens were. Immediately they watch the Hatter take the lead and again David muttered something incoherent, but didn't refuse. Therefore it could be assumed that he didn't see a problem so long as the man's mouth remained shut.

As they entered into the Botanical Gardens with ease Tetch placed a thoughtful forefinger on his chin. Bill and David watched—one with boredom, the other with impatience—as he tapped his chin a few times. They both exchanged looks when Jervis began muttering angrily to himself, staring down the entryway and maintaining a steady pace. David glanced at his watch every few seconds.

Pausing in his search, Tetch turned his head towards him and made a movement that clearly asked for permission to speak. When Bill gave a slight nod of the head, Tetch took his chance. "Would it be any trouble if you two search this area while I check the next room? I'm not positive where I last held teatime here."

"No." David said with a flat tone.

Bill agreed.

"If this is about you thinking I'm trying to escape, it's not." Jervis Tetch sniffed. "You know that's," He pointed towards the door they had recently came through, "is the only entrance and exit in this place. And you two can search out here while I search in there. I swear in the good name of Wonderland that I shall behave."

Again the guards exchanged looks.

"No."

"_Fine_, it doesn't matter to me if this will take longer…"

A groan and swearword came from David.

Tetch swirled back around to start scanning the area though he knew _exactly_ what he was searching for was—

"David, you search the place here. I'll search in the next room with Tetch."

"… This has got to be a horrible joke… just, got to be…"

They paid him no mind as they left him alone in the entryway and entering into the next room. Bill shook his head at himself, mentally scolding and trying to understand why he was even doing this. It wasn't his duty to help an inmate—a _criminally insane_ inmate—to find a tea set. Instantly his senses went on alert incase he _did_ try anything. Although the Mad Hatter wasn't as insane as the crazy Joker or a psychopath like Zsasz there was no denying that he could be a potential threat.

"I'll go search up there while you search down here." Tetch mindlessly hummed as he started towards the step leaving a baffled Bill near the doors. He paused once reaching the top and listened to hear if there was any protest or footsteps following after.

There wasn't.

Tetch let the sly smirk cross his face as he slipped through another door that would lead to the generator room. But that wasn't where he was headed, no. He closed the door softly and turned towards the teapot and teacups that were neatly placed out and chuckled softly. He reached out towards the place, behind the display, where he had hidden the extra mind control chips all those months ago. He felt around the soft soil for a few seconds before frowning.

They weren't there.

He tried a little to the left and a little to the right.

Still, there was nothing but soil and leaves.

"Bandersnatch! I know I hid them somewhere here…!" Tetch scowled deeply and dusted his hands off. The tea set was neatly set and untouched which meant the chips had to be around somewhere. He lifted the teapot up and removed the lid; inspecting it carefully in hopes he had placed the chips within. No such luck, unfortunately for him. He placed it back down and started to scan the wall once again. Time was of the essence and he could feel beads of sweat on the back of his neck. The two idiots wouldn't remain out in the entryway forever. "This is absurd! I know I put them somewhere around here."

Had he? He paused and thought back. He specifically made certain to hide the chips somewhere where he would be able to locate them with ease. And he decided to pick a place where a plaque, dedicated to people of utter importance, where there was only two…

Tetch snapped his fingers.

He placed them by the plaque. Of course, he remembered now, if anyone had decided to move his tea set they may've been able to notice the small glint of the chips and he couldn't afford that. He breathed a sigh of relief and headed straight down the corridor to where the bench was and grinned as he leaned over and scanned the soil in the planter before slowly circling around. Even before he was halfway around the planter his eyes fell on his treasure and he eager snatched them into his hands with a gleeful smile. He didn't know what made his eyes flicker down to the right, but they did.

And he froze.

There, propped up against the wall of the cement planter, was a girl. Eyelids closed and face relaxed in the peaceful slumber that had called her. Her arm resting over her stomach and head, from where he stood, turned away from his view. But what really made his eyes pop out of his skull was what she was _wearing_: a blue, silk dress with a white apron in the front. He blinked thinking he was merely seeing things but when she didn't vanish he continued staring at her. It was like a scene straight out from a book.

Correction: a scene out of _his favorite book_.

Then suddenly… he frowned.

Her hair was… not at all what it should be.

_Brunette curls_ instead of _pure gold_.

With quick strides and determination, he kneeled before her and examined her, carefully, with his blue eyes. And then he _knew_. There was no mistaking it now. It was clear now, the answer, as to who she was. Perfectly, undeniably, and ever so _clear_; he felt the corners of his mouth quirk upward. This had to be the great Frabjous Day!

Alice Liddell.

_Alice_ Liddell.

_Alice_.

His breath caught in his throat as he heard a small groan.

Eyelids fluttered open and dark cerulean blue met his sky ones.

They remained like that before reality began to sink into her and confusion knitted her brows together.

"Alice, my dear, you've finally arrived!" Jervis exclaimed, with enthusiasm, clasping his hands together in pure delight. There was _no_ doubt about it now; she had taken a sharp intake of breath and tried to scoot back from him as far as she could. "O, Frabjous Day! Callooh! Callay! I—" He stopped shot when he heard voices calling out ahead of him.

"_Tetch!_ Where are you, you creep?" He recognized that voice. It was David. "I _knew_ this was a bad idea. Why'd you have to make a deal with him to begin with? We could be finished rounding up all the patients by now and not having to deal with this shit."

No. Oh no. No, no, no, no—they couldn't ruin his reunion with his dear, sweet Alice!

"I'm terribly sorry for what I'm about to do, Alice, but I'm afraid it's the only way to keep you safe until we reach our destination." He gave a sympathetic look. This would not do, he knew, but if was the only guarantee that he'd be able to keep Alice with him. And this way he wouldn't have the need to knock her out cold. If anything, his conscious reassured, this was more humane.

"Pardon me, but what—"

He regretted having to do this; he'd much rather listen to her gentle voice.

In a quick flash he leaned forward and tucked in one of the chips onto her bowtie and watched as her eyes glazed over and sighed. If only it was under different circumstances. Then he wouldn't have needed to brainwash her with his mind control equipment. Another depressed sigh came from him. Now wasn't the time to be thinking of what could have been. Jervis only prayed that she wouldn't be furious with him once he removed the chip. Or worse, afraid of him; he could still see the expression the imposter Alice had given him—he knew now she was not meant to be _the_ Alice—after having been saved by Batman.

Yet Alice would understand why he did it, wouldn't she? It was for her own protection, for her own good! He brushed a stray hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. Yes, she would understand. He grinned.

"_TETCH!_"

The grin fell into a pout at having been disturbed—_again_. Quickly, Jervis gathered the duffle bag in his hands and disposed of useless items he no longer found important. Nothing was important now that he had his Alice. Next, he slipped the control band into the rim of his top hat and placed it on his head with pride. Jervis Tetch returned his gaze to her for one last time before closing his eyes and toning out the voices echoing off the walls, trying to ignore how close they were getting…

"There's no way he could have escaped." Bill rounded the corner and felt relief flood through him. Leaning over, inspecting the daffodils was Tetch. The weight on his shoulders lifted and, if it weren't for the visor helmet he wore, he would have wiped the sweat from his forehead. Instead, he settled with clearing his throat.

No reaction.

"Tetch," He watched as the man gave a small jump and swirled around to face him, "what are you doing?"

The guilty party gave a sheepish grin and motioned to the flowers he had been previously admiring. "Oh, I thought I heard voices and had believed for a second I really was in Wonderland." He let his shoulders drop an inch. "But that doesn't seem the case. It appears I hadn't fallen down the rabbit hole after all… a real pity too."

Bill stared at him. The guy was talking to the flowers? He shook his head. "Look Tetch; we weren't able to find that tea set of yours. So either you did or you didn't. And either way, time's up."

"Oh, I did." Tetch nodded gravely and picked up the duffle bag, swinging it over with gentleness. The way he said that was beyond creepy. In fact, it was… disturbing.

"… Right… OK…" The guard suddenly felt uneasy and shifted from one foot to the other. There was undeniably something wrong here. Like, to start with, Tetch's personality. Bill knew the man was a bit—OK, more like _a lot_—messed up in the head and showed more interest in a world that didn't exist compared to the one he actually lived in, but never had he heard about the once scientist talking to _plants_. That was more of Poison Ivy's thing—that woman held more concern for plants then _human beings lives_, but Jervis Tetch? He recalled how Ivy attacked the man for making a comment about how he abhor roses because the Red Queen absolutely loved them during a group therapy session (why he said that, Bill didn't know, but he guessed the doctor had been the one to broach the subject).

And here he was talking to _daffodils_?

"… What?"

He blinked, shook his head. "Nothing…"

"Fu—" David bustled around the corner and was ready to swear again when his attention fell onto the two. "—…"

Silence rang like a bell between them.

"Well!" Tetch coughed with cheerfulness. "Shall we head to the buses now, gentlemen?"

Without waiting for a response Tetch started forward towards the exit of the gardens. It didn't take long for two pairs of footsteps to follow after him and David asking his partner if he had tried to escape. No, none of that matter to him now. He let the devious smile sculpt itself onto his face and ducked his head down so if any passing guards glanced at them they wouldn't be able to see it. No, he'd hide his joy from them until he was in the safety of his new home.

* * *

End of Author's Notes:

Now, I should point out a few needed facts to know as to not cause confusion later on.

For starters, this is all going to be taken place in Arkham City. The sequel to _Batman: Arkham Asylum_ is being dismissed at the moment because my plot bunnies have decided not to bother with the minor details given of _Arkham City_. Two-Face will make an appearance, but he won't be capturing Catwoman for public execution in this story. But then again we'll see; my plot bunnies may change their minds. Also want to add in that, because we never did see Jervis Tetch/The Mad Hatter in the video game, I'm basing him off of the _Animated Series_—where I also got the idea that he and Dr. Crane are friends. I tried looking for information on who'll be guarding the perimeter of Arkham City and that's where Tyger comes in. Don't know a lot about them and tried to do more background check on the group but so far I'm unable to find much else about them.

That's all I can think of at the moment. If I forgot to mention something, feel free to ask about it and I'll see about trying to answer it to the best of my abilities in the next chapter.

Feedback is greatly appreciated so kindly leave a review.


	2. Reality Within a Dream

Coming Undone  
_Reality Within a Dream_

* * *

No words could describe the sensation—or lack thereof—of what had happened.

A misty fog crept through as it does when sneaking up on the bay. The phenomenon itself was indescribable but if having to choose a word to describe it the word would be along the lines of unwinding. Depending on who experienced the strangeness of the feeling it would be seen as a nice matter or a horrifying one. Notably, it also depended on how the occasion, at the time, presented itself.

Alice Liddell knew how she felt towards it.

Her five senses were tingling as they slowly reawaken from their long slumber and it was not a pleasant feeling. It felt as if pinpricks were constantly poking every inch of her skin. The sensation was quite unnerving _and_ uncomfortable. Thoughts jumbled everywhere inside her head and it took a millennium to simply remember how to properly _think_.

Hazily, she tried to remember what had transpired: Lorina had left to retrieve a pack of cards; next a white rabbit came along—who was really a man named Peter White—where he proceeded to carry her down a rabbit hole; she then met people called 'roleholders'—the light and dark Jokers, Pierce, Gray, Go Round, Blood, Vivaldi, Dee and Dum, Elliot March, Boris, Ace… Julius—all held clocks for hearts and a different understanding of life; Julius catching her as she tried to sneak out because she didn't want to say goodbye and exchanging—what may have been—false promises; her legs carrying her with determination as one word filled her mind…

_Home_.

She stifled a groan as she tried to lift a hand to her head. Her muscles refused to work for her after being so lax. How _had_ they become so to begin with? As she finally managed to get her fingers to feel alive once again she noticed the prickling sensation wasn't as bad as it had been when she first woke. Stifling another groan that wanted to escape as she slowly rose into a sitting position; she watched as the blankets pooled around her waist. Eyebrows furrowed in perplexity at the sight. These blankets did not belong to her family and they certainly didn't belong to Julius. Had someone happen to come across her; Pierce perhaps? _No_, she sighed knowing he wouldn't have brought her to his home, _he'd have most likely run off for help._

She knew after inspecting the decorations of the room that she definitely was not at the tower, the mansion, nor the castle. Could it be the prison the Jokers were in charge of? She shook her head at the thought. There was no chance of that happening. Was there? Her subconscious reminded her to keep calm and, if she really wanted to know who had found her, to see by opening the door tucked in the corner of the room.

With the last pins and needles fading from her limbs Alice stood, carefully, to her feet. Checking her hair to discover it free of tangles and smoothing out her dress, Alice took in a deep breath. Whoever had found her was without a doubt on the other side of the door. But that wasn't the case as she stared down the narrowed hallway. And she found it to be in quite a shabby state. It wasn't like the room she was coming out from, she noted, as she passed a few bust opened doors and felt a chilly air escort her. Goosebumps broke out on the skin of her arms and she hurriedly crossed them in efforts to hug the last bit of warmth that had stuck on her from the room she had been placed in.

As she met halfway of the hallway she noticed to her left a staircase that curved at an angle as it met the bottom floor. Without a second thought she progressed with a sharpened pace and paused as she descended the last step. This building was definitely not a prison. It was a hotel.

And Alice didn't recall any hotels in the Country of Hearts.

Behind her a low moan gave away and she turned around to face it—as she was happening to examine the doors that appeared to be the entrance as well as the exit of the building—to find another pair of doors. She held in her breath for a minute. No one emerged.

"Hello?" She called after another minute. "Is anyone there?"

No answer was given and she cautiously went towards the door that was slightly ajar.

"… Is someone there?" She placed a firm hand on the door that had come loose and waited. Finally, when she didn't receive an answer yet again, she wrenched the door open. "It's not polite to ignore your guest, I hope you know! And don't even think about scaring me because I swear I will… will…."

Alice started, all words lost.

The scenery of the room reminded her of the tea party Blood Dupre held—with exceptions, of course. Like for one, the tea party Blood held had been outside amid the sweet scented flowers. Here, it was in a musky room with moldy color wallpaper peeling from different places. And the tea set… true, it wasn't as glorious and magnificent as Blood's, but it was evident the owner cared a greater deal for it than everything else she had come across so far. And it was noticeably smaller; Blood had fifteen different sets of teapots and teacups set out as to which the table only held one. But it was enough for her to know.

That she no longer resided in the Country of Hearts.

And she knew for a fact that she wasn't home.

So… where exactly was she?

She hadn't even realized she had approached the table until she found the tips of her fingers scarcely making contact with the teapot.

"Oh!"

At the sound Alice spun her body around to face source.

"I see you're already up." The man with blond, choppy hair muttered somewhat sheepishly. "I had hoped to… make it back before… erm," He hesitated and shifted uncomfortably, "no matter, no matter!" A small uncertain smile flashed itself at her. "What does matter is that you've finally arrived! In all my life I had been wondering when you would… and, well, here you are at last!" He smiled—fully now, all self-consciousness gone—and started to walk towards her.

This caused Alice to take a step back and the action was enough for him to pause in his advancement. His smile momentarily faltered and something flashed within his eyes. An eerie silence hung around them. Then, as quickly as it had come, it was gone. He picked up his pace once more but changed his direction to go on the other side of the table.

"My apologies about the lack of proper furnishing; I tried my best to spruce up this dreary place." He sighed and set down the items that had been tucked within his arms. Alice skimmed over the contents quickly—most of it was canned goods, with a few trivial items—before returning her gaze back to his form. "I hope within the next few weeks I'll be able to fix this place up to be like a castle you rightfully deserve!"

Alice stared at him in bafflement. "Um, I'm sorry. Come again?" There was no way she heard that right. This stranger did not just say—

"I promise on a Hatter's honor that I'll have this place fixed up to be the grandest castle you deserve!"

—he did. He really and actually did say that.

"Look, I don't know who you are—"

His face fell. "You don't?"

"—…" She gave him a disbelieving face. But seeing the hurt shine in his eyes as his lower lip stuck up in a pout made her release a huff. She went through memories as far as she could remember and still held no recognition for the man across from her. "No, I do not. Now, I—"

"Why, dear Alice, it is I!" He cried with pure zest, "Your ever maddening Hatter!"

No matter how hard she tried to keep it from her face, Alice couldn't help it; she gaped. "Y-You're my… _what?_"

"I'm your Mad Hatter." He grinned from ear to ear and, as if to fully prove his point, gestured at himself and that's when she finally took notice of the attire he wore. In some cases it reminded her of a mix of Julius, with his long coat—only it was an indigo, sort of color—and the top hat placed securely on his head reminded of her being that of a certain mafia boss. Then… realization dawned on her, eyes wide and mouth partly open; Jervis, upon seeing this, smiled joyfully. "You remember me—!"

"_You_," She pointed a shaky finger at him, "you're the one from that… that… _place!_"

Jervis remained silent as he watched her. This wasn't how she was supposed to act. No, he had planned it all out in his head: she would discover him sitting at the table and join him for tea as he recited Lewis Carroll's famed writing and poems. And she would exchange pleasant conversation with him. If only those hooligans of Joker hadn't cut him in line when retrieving goods; he would have returned before she had roused and then it would have gone according to plan. He sent a deadly glare at the ruins of the chandelier hanging above the table. Next time, he was definitely bringing some of his mind control chips with him.

"—me!"

He snapped his face—focus—back to the fuming brunette whose cheeks were slightly flushed and hands on her hips. Suddenly he felt guilty. She had been speaking to him and he wasn't paying attention. "I'm terribly sorry, Alice, but could you… repeat that?" Honestly? Jervis wasn't even sure he wanted to hear what it was she had said from the stance she was in.

Alice fixed him with a glare, but wasn't able to hold it for very long. Not with the face he was giving her. But that didn't mean she was still annoyed, angry, and, most importantly, confused.

"Perhaps we should talk about this over a cup of tea?" Jervis suggested and gestured for her to take a seat—restraining himself from running over and pulling it out for her like a gentleman—and sat in the plush chair on his right. He could see how stiff she was and knew he needed to make her as comfortable as possible. Otherwise… well, he didn't want to considering what the 'otherwise' would be. He bit the inside of his cheek and concentrated on pouring a cup of tea for himself and waited with anxiety for her to take a seat. Seconds passed and he felt a bead of sweat tickle its way down his forehead. "I swear I shall answer all your questions. Please, sit."

Reluctantly, she did.

"How do you take your tea, Alice?" He felt relief swell within his chest and poured another cup. It was his duty to make her feel at home.

"How is it you know my name?"

Ah, straight to the point. Then again, he was glad she was. The creator of this place didn't have the decency to send any cream or sugar to have with his tea. "I'm the Hatter; therefore I _should_ know your name. And I do." He reached over and gently placed the cup in front of her. He smiled in reassurance at the guarded look she gave him.

"… Who are you?"

"You've already asked me that question! And I've already told you! I'm your Mad Hatter, my dear!"

Alice felt her eyebrow twitch. Subconsciously, she knew, he was going to be a Peter White.

"OK…" She eyed him warily. "Could you tell me where I am?"

This was where he gave her an indecisive look. Every day he had debated what type of answer he should give if the question came and, unfortunately, he still wasn't sure. His inner Hatter wanted to make her believe that this was Wonderland. Yet problems rose if this answer should be chosen. But if he should pick reality it would be about the same. Perhaps worse, the more thought he gave it. He lowered his head and stared listlessly into his teacup. Whichever one he picked would hold consequences and there was no avoiding it. And, eventually, if Alice should happen to sneak a glance outside she really _would_ know that she was _not_ in Wonderland—but instead in this utterly foul and repulsive place far from it.

"… Arkham Asylum."

The tone was void of emotion and he kept his head down as to not see her reaction.

"'Arkham Asylum'…?"

Alice felt her blood run cold; she was in… an asylum? Wasn't that were crazy people were put in? She found it hard to breathe. Why was she… how…? Panic and fear gripped the edges of her heart. Had she… lost it? Was her adventure in the Country of Hearts really all a…mirage? Did her father put her in this place as she referred him, her sisters, _anyone_ as the roleholders? Had she truly not fallen asleep in the shade of the oak tree, dreamt of being kidnapped by Peter White, and carried off into the Country of Hearts? Alice tried to swallow in a lungful of air.

"More like Arkham City, really." Hatter shrugged and his voice seemed muffled. "See, they were transferring the… patients… from Arkham Asylum into this place named Arkham City. All thanks goes to the newly, sworn in Mayor Quincy Sharp. Who took credit in something he didn't do. Or, so I've heard…" He raised his head finally and started. "Alice!"

A hand was clutching at her chest—close to her heart—and face a ghostly white. It didn't take him long to figure she was having a panic attack. Rushing to her side, he kneeled beside her and took her hand—the one clutching the armrest—in both of his gloved hands.

"Alice, focus on the sound of my voice. Tune out everything else, understand? Now, take deep breaths—slowly—and hold it. Yes, like that. Wait a moment—OK, now slowly let it out. Yes, very good, you're doing wonderfully. Now, again take a slow breath in. Good, good. Now, exhale through the mouth this time." He gave her hand a small squeeze in assurance and repeated the process until color had returned to her face and she was no longer clutching at her chest. "There, see? You're alright, you're alright. Feeling better?"

He received a shaky nod from her. "Good. Here, drink some tea. They do say tea helps relax a person."

"Thank you." Alice breathed out after doing as he instructed. He nodded and sat in the chair beside her, giving her hand another soft pat. Her eyelids slid shut as she tried to regain her composure. "I'm… sorry."

"It's quite alright, my dear, no need to apologize."

"So when… when was I admitted?"

Both eyebrows rose to the brim of his hat. "'Admitted'?" He softly asked and she nodded. "Why, Alice, you were _never_ admitted."

Surprise lit up her entire face. "I wasn't? But I thought—"

"Good heavens, no!" He exclaimed.

Relief washed over her features and then the confusion was back. "But… then how…?"

"You must have fallen down the rabbit hole, is my guess." A skeptical look came to her face and he returned it with an innocent smile. When that didn't work he heaved a sigh. "I discovered you in the gardens on the day the inmate—I mean, patients… were being moved into this pathetic excuse of a city." Reality gripped at him and it was unwanted. Too many questions were being asked and he didn't want to be brought back into the reality of this cruel and heartless world. He wanted this to be _Wonderland_ and now that she was here it seemed the fantasy was crumbling apart.

Alice, in the meanwhile, was trying to remember. The images were fuzzy, as if recalling a lost dream, but then… _there_. The bewitching light, cold marble floor, smell of dewdrops and greens, and _him_—"What is it you did to me?" Her voice came out in a tremor as she remembered that it all went black after that. _What did he do…?_

"I'm… sorry." And it was true; he was. "But I just _couldn't_ let them take you from me. I had no choice and it was much more humane than having to knock you out with a blunt object."

"What was more humane?"

The Mad Hatter fixed her with a sadden gaze. "The mind control chips."

_Mind… control?_ That wasn't possible. The mere thought wasn't plausible to her. But… could that explain the loss memory, the blankness since then? The strange sensations she felt when she woke in that room and began to feel those pins and needles nibbling her flesh?

"I swear I didn't make you do anything! Besides staying still in my duffle bag and… holding my tea set. But that was all!" The Hatter cried and continued to swear on his life and that honor that he made positively certain she was as comfortable as possible and that no danger had come to her. But what really made her snap was, "It was only until I found a proper location, with at least a somewhat suitable building, away from all those other Jabberwockies! I was going to remove the chip sooner, but—"

"'Sooner'…?" She felt her body shake. Whether it be from anger, fear, or extreme anxiety she wasn't able to register. All that mattered was finding out what he meant by 'sooner'. "What do you mean? How… how long have I been under your," She sent him a sharp glare, "your 'brain control' contraption?"

He mentally smacked himself upside the head. That wasn't supposed to slip out. "Alice, please—"

"How long has it been since then?" Alice refused to crumble from the heartbreaking stare he was giving her. It was obvious he was silently begging her not to ask him this. But when it was apparent that she would not be swayed the Hatter nervously swallowed.

"Two months. Perhaps a little less or a little more, I'm not sure."

_Two months._

She had been under his… control… for the past _two__ months?_ Vaguely she was aware of him still talking because all she could focus on was _two __months_. His previous words still rung in her ears and all else was a buzz, a hum. A spell had been placed on her as she remained immobile, in a trance. The words—_two months, two months, _two _months, two _months—echoed continuously and blinded her.

"—Alice…?" Jervis suddenly became aware of the look on her face as he finally returned his gaze to her. Her face was as white as a sheet. For a slit second he thought she was having another panic attack. "Alice? Please," He wet his lips and raised a hand towards her, "say something. Alice…?"

_Two months, two months, two months, two _months—

And just as his fingers made the briefest of contacts with her arm—she _snapped_.

The whole incident was a blur and when Jervis Tetch had finally realized what had happened it was _too late_. "Alice! _ALICE!_"

But she was gone.

The only evidence that was left of her was the faint smell of her perfume and the slamming of the doors—the _front_ doors.

* * *

Author's Notes:

OK, so this year I'm going to try something a bit different. At the end of each chapter I'm going to personally thank each and every review who took the time to review on the last chapter (as well as answer any questions and such). I suppose it could be thought as one of my New Year's Resolutions. So here we go!

KoK: Thanks again for the review! And look: Jervis _did_ stuff poor Alice in his duffle—and made her hold his tea set! Thankfully for her she can't recall any of that. And forgive me, but I'm still working on that third request you asked for. Hopefully, my bunnies will finish it soon so I can post it. And that your other two first requests will be up too; for me, school is drawing near and so hopefully I can get my flashdrives (and binder) back.

pasty face: Thank you so much for the review! It made me smile. :)

Whisperer of Wintersilence: Thanks for the feedback! Now to answer your question my plot bunnies have a lot in store—they already have _many, many _ideas on which Batman baddies will make an appearance. But if you want to know exactly who… hmm… here's three very much confirmed characters: Jervis Tetch "The Mad Hatter" (haha, obviously!), Victor Zsasz (yes, unless my bunnies don't like how the result of his and Alice's meeting turns out), and Edward Nygma "The Riddler" (my favorite! :D My plot bunnies have already had me write out the scene of his and Alice's meeting).

Iris: Thank you for your review! And you're right; I should have thought of a better way. Bill would be a whole lot stricter on the matter and yes, he was one of the few lucky survivors from Joker's takeover! No joke. I wanted to have one guard—originally from the game—appear and therefore Bill was the lucky winner. He was the guard, with the Arkham orderly, in the Library of Arkham Mansion.

Pookey: Thank you kindly for the review! As for roleholders making an appearance? Good question. My plot bunnies didn't want anything to do with them (unfortunately)—even writing with the small amount of Julius had been a difficult task—but who knows? After reading your suggestion I can already feel my plot bunnies mulling over it over. So... we can only wait and see what the verdict on that is. ;D

Snowfall Empress: Thank you very much for the review and you are very welcome! To tell you the truth I'm excited for the real action to start soon too! Unfortunately, we have to deal with the introductions and Alice getting (some) answers. But there will be a little more excitement in the next chapter, promise. I mean, Alice has left the safety of the Hatter's 'mansion' (LOL). So that can only spell one thing: trouble.

Again, thank you all so much for taking the time to leave a review (truthfully, I was only expecting about two or three for this)! Now, I have questions for you:  
1. What did you think of the chapter? Too dull, too boring, OK?  
2. Do you think Jervis should've answered differently then how he did?  
3. Was Alice a little more in character?  
4. Who do _you_ think Alice will run into in the next chapter (yes, we'll be meeting another Batman baddie!)? I'll give you a hint: he (there's the hint! Haha, just kidding) appeared in the animated show _The Batman ('04—'08)_.


	3. Wonderful Wonder Turmoil

Coming Undone  
_Wonderful Wonder Turmoil_

* * *

_Oh my._

Alice felt her heart beat uncomfortably against her breast. When the need for air had been too great she had come to a sudden halt. Her hair fell like a curtain, obscuring her face, as she bent her head down. It wasn't until she lifted her head from a distant shout that she felt fear grip her all over again.

Charcoal and ash assaulted her nostrils and she brought a hand to her mouth. She stood straight once again and couldn't believe her eyes. When the… Hatter… had told her where she was, she couldn't conjure how a city filled with patients from an asylum would look. But she did know that this wouldn't have crossed her mind—at all.

All the structures of the buildings she could see were practically worn and lifeless. Down the street to her right she found a small fire crackling from what appeared to be an automobile. Beside the gutters, nearly hundreds of papers lingered there, most covered with sludge and dirt. Broken pieces of glass lay still beneath the windows and at one store the doors had been busted down. Some signs stayed in place, faded overtime, while some had either become crooked or had entirely fallen from their rightful place.

_Oh dear_. Alice thought as she cautiously twirled around in her spot to take in the sights. This really was a sight that never would have crossed her imagination and yet… here it was. Overrun by the patients that should never have been moved into a—_wait a minute._

Quickly she scanned her surroundings once more before stopping short. Just exactly where _was_ everyone? The streets were empty, lifeless. More questions filled her mind and she wondered _how_ this place had turned downhill so fast or had it always been like this? Shouldn't there have been some type of authorities to control the violence? She frowned and swept a hand at her bangs, bothered by the sensation of the ends sweeping across her eyes.

Cackles of the fire popped from the automobile, the grayish smoke rising into the dark, clouded night.

"Alright, Alice, this is another dream you've managed to summon yourself into and therefore you can easily get out of it." She nodded gravely at the words, but felt no relief behind it. This world was much darker, stranger, and gloomier compared to that of the bright and sunny Country of Hearts. Dread oozed itself into her stomach as she thought of the dwellers within. In Hearts, the thought of killing was seen as for all fun and games. Who knew what the residents thought of it? "Now, now Alice, don't think like that. Everything will turn out fine. Yes, quite. It's only a dream after all."

She waited to see if she could feel any reassurance from that; she didn't.

"There has to be some type of authorities around here somewhere." She chewed her bottom lip and gazed down each of the four streets for an even length of time. If only there was a map that would be a big help.

Taking off down the street—opposite of where the burning automobile lay—Alice kept her pace quick and steady. With any luck she would come across some type of authority and be rescued, until able to wake up from this bizarre (more so) dream or discovering a way back to the Country of Hearts. Whichever one came first, she'd gratefully take.

After walking two blocks down, taking a right and walking down another three or four blocks, Alice began to wish she really hadn't tried so desperately to find a way back home. She could be in Julius's tower and making him a cup of coffee for him to grade or having a conversation with Boris. Heck, even getting lost with Ace or being persisted by Peter was definitely preferred than being here—wandering down, aimlessly, along these deserted and sullen streets.

One would think that, by now, Alice would have crossed paths with a patient. Her nerves spun uncontrollably as this wasn't the case and she really couldn't be positive if this was a good sign or bad. Pausing in her journey she read the faded street signs and made another right. Many of the strangely shaped automobiles were alit with fire and, to her, it felt like déjà vu. Every street seemed like the last: broken glass, busted doors, trash littering the streets, hideous smells assaulting her nose, the faded signs of businesses and stores. Beside a few of the buildings differing in shape and size, it really did feel like she was walking in circles.

_I bet Ace would have a grand time getting lost in this._ A smile crossed her lips as she thought of the Knight of Hearts; he always put on a smile—sometimes for show, sometimes not (so the girl hoped)—not minding his lack of owning a sense of direction. The organ beating against her chest contracted at the memories and moisture gathered around the brims of her eyes.

Alice made a turn as she wiped at her eyes, still wishing that she was still _there_. Returning her gaze back to where she was going she noticed that she now stood in an empty alleyway, the smell much worse compared to the open streets. Her eyes landed on the large, rectangular metal box that was overflowing with trash.

Something didn't seem right.

The hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stood on end and she waited.

_Don't be silly, Alice._ Her mind scolded her and she tried to relax her tense shoulders. _There isn't anything wrong. You've been walking down empty streets without coming into contact with anyone. This isn't anything different. Perhaps this'll be a shortcut. Yes, a shortcut—_

Her eyes widened, nearly pocking out of their sockets, as a shadow at the other end passed. Gruff voices spoke, bouncing off the walls and into her ears. What exactly was being said she couldn't decipher. But she knew that, from the gut instinct she was getting, that they were not someone she wanted to encounter. The fourth shadow that was passing paused and her breath caught in her throat as the outline of the head turned in the direction she was standing.

"Hey, man! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I thought I saw somethin'."

"Did you 'ear that, boys, 'e thought he saw something."

A chorus of chuckles, deep and taunting, rose and the second—the one who had saw her—bristled, his tone sharp. "I'm _serious_ here! I saw somethin' move down there." Footsteps crept in and Alice kept herself still; she could hear them getting closer to the dumpster she hid behind. "Like, it was right here—"

"Hello there!"

Alice bit back the shriek; her heart jumping out of her chest from the exclamation. She noticed that no one had popped their head out and found her—that she still _hadn't_ been discovered upon. But then… _who?_

"Didn't you 'ear who owns this territory?" One of the voices shouted and she heard growls erupt from the men's throats at their new visitor. Among them, she heard someone mutter that it seemed the guy was right that he saw someone down here and she wondered how that could be when it was just her.

"Um," the voice that had greeted them gave, "oh! Yeah, I heard who owns this section of the city. It's Two-Face."

"'Two-Face'? _Two-Face?_" The previous speaker repeated in disgust.

"Who are you kidding? Joker owns this 'ere territory!"

_Joker's here?_ Alice couldn't believe it. Did that mean that Joker was _here?_ That _the_ Joker she met in the Country of Hearts was actually in _this dream?_ Would it be the _same_ Joker? Or had her imagination decided to make a few adjustments? Oh, this was way too confusing for her.

"And 'sides, you should know better than to mess with him!"

"Yeah, so beat it!"

"Otherwise, _we'll_ beat _you_!"

"And how are you five going to manage that? _I'm_ the one who has the higher advantage—literally."

'_Literally'?—Does that mean he's up on the roof?_ Curiosity was starting to get the better of her, itching to take a peek. But her body remained frozen in place, back pressed against the cold metal and knees drawn up to her chest. This time common sense was in control, to makeup for that rash behavior she had committed minutes—or had it been hours?—ago.

"That's it! Come down 'ere and—"

Thunder cackled and sung in the air and Alice never heard—nor imagined—the sound that boomed in the air. The man who had been speaking gave a yelp—or, she imagined it was him from the way he cut off—of surprise as a large '_crack_' followed after the unnerving sounds. The other three men were shouting profanities here and there, as more of the sharp '_crack_' rolled over their cries. Curiosity was swept away as an agonizing scream was ripped from one of the men's throats. Alice felt the urge to bolt from the scene, without managing to be caught, bubbled within her chest.

However, the thought quickly vanished from her mind as a bright beam of light flew over her head and landed with a sickening '_crunch_' against the paved street, a few feet away from her hiding spot. Blinking rapidly from the blinding light, Alice felt her skin pale. Where the light had landed was no longer there, but the spot of which had been smooth like the rest of the concrete was no more. A few large chunks of the material had been cracked and even fewer had managed to take flight from the impact of the beam.

"Hugh, let's get outta 'ere!"

"Quick, you two grab Dylan!"

"Joker ain't going to be pleased with this! You're going to regret ever playing with the big boys! Mark my words!"

Alice quickly pressed tighter to the cold, dirty wall as the footsteps padded on the ground in the direction that she had—unfortunately—came from. She closed her eyes and hoped they wouldn't notice her. And just as quickly they were gone.

Silence rang for what seemed like eternity. But Alice refused to move. Too many thoughts were flying through her head, questions. Had the person who attacked them gone too? Was he far gone? Would it be safe if she tried to continue on? Should she retrace her steps back and take a different route? And if she did, would she happen to make it out without running into that person? Or worse: would she end up meeting someone entirely more dangerous and threatening then who those four had encountered? Most importantly, would she survive long enough to return home?

_Relax, Alice, surely whoever had the feud between those four is long gone by now. Perhaps he chased after them…? Either way, sitting here won't get you anywhere. You've faced worse in the Country of Hearts… sort of, in a way._

Tentatively—shakily—she peeked around the corner to find the paved ground in worse condition compared to that one little spot. Alice ran her eyes over the area, carefully and slowly, before rising to her feet and took a small step away from her hiding spot. The eerie silence continued on and it was uncertain that was the reason her ears rung or if it was still from that event, with the blasts and the screams, some time ago. At the end it seemed void of life, but a shiver ran up her spine at the thought of what could be lurking just beyond. Deciding that turning around and trying a different path was best, Alice did so while praying that whichever one she did take would be safer.

"Huh. I don't recall seeing you around here before."

Alice squished down the shriek. As an alternative, she gave a quick prayer before spinning around on her heel and lifted her gaze to stare, dumbfounded, at the hovering figure in the sky. A buzzing met her ears momentarily and she stumbled backward when he was suddenly _there_—in front of her—with his head cocked to the side. She watched him with guarded eyes and felt her muscles tense.

Suddenly she became startled when he _laughed_—as if she had just told him a joke.

"Relax! It's not like I'm going to rape you or anything!" He lifted his hands up as if _she_ was the one who was _intimidating him_. The alarms inside of her screamed—_Danger! Run! Danger!_—but it appeared that he had read her mind because his hand snatched her elbow in a tight grip. "Cool your jets! I said I _wasn't_ going to do that! Sheesh, how come women make everything so difficult? … Don't answer that."

"I will assure you that I won't."

"Good. Now that we've established that, why don't you tell me what your name is?"

"And why should I?"

"If you think about it real carefully—I just saved your life."

She huffed. "You didn't save me from anything! I was never in any danger—!"

"Uh huh, so if I hadn't arrived quite yet and they had discovered you, what would that mean?"

"Perhaps I would have found myself in a compromising situation—"

"See? That's exactly my point."

"—…"

From underneath the helmet the young man grinned in victory. It was quite amusing with the fiery glare she was sending him, cheeks flushed and cerulean orbs heated like a thundering storm. Soon he realized that this wasn't about to change; she refused to be swayed. He rolled his eyes. This was getting old—fast. And then an idea struck him. Smirking, he released his grip—no harm done since, if she did try to run, he would be able to catch her without breaking a sweat—and held his hand out to her.

To Alice, the act was quite… shocking. When his grip had gone she was about to make a dash for it until he held his hand out. Sending him a suspicious look he seemed to ignore it.

"The name's Firefly."

_What is with these—erm—'intriguing names'?_

"Alice Liddell." She gave a small curtsy as the breed teachings of proper manners kicked in and she wished she could kick herself in the head at that moment. However, she was pulled back from her thoughts as he spoke.

"Huh."

"… What?"

Firefly remained silent. Her name had struck a tiny bell in his brain, but at the same time it didn't. Which was unbelievably odd; he knew they had never crossed paths, but the name… it seemed strangely familiar to him. He contemplated for awhile longer before dismissing her question with a wave of his hand. "Oh, it's nothing. So tell me, _Alice_, how'd you manage to wind yourself up here in Arkham City?"

Beginning to open her mouth to tell her tale, Alice felt a scream caught in her throat as his hand snatched out and clamped over her mouth. Somehow in the quick action he had also managed to spin her around, back pressed against his chest, and his other arm latched around her waist and, to her dismay, imprisoned her arms to her sides. She wiggled frantically against him as the alarm bells inside her mind went into overdrive and told her she should have fled the moment she had the chance.

"_Calm down_."

Instantly she did in fear that he would resolve to brutal actions and held her breath in hope.

"How do we know the insect hasn't flown the coop yet?"

"We don't, but does it matter?"

Mystified, Alice felt her muscles become even tenser then before at the sound of new guests creeping their way. And she was even more baffled when she realized that was why Firefly had ensnared her in his—if one could call it such—embrace. How had he managed to hear them before her? Thinking about it she found that that question at the moment didn't matter. What did matter was what was going to happen upon confrontation.

The first voice answered, "Both of you shut it! We're getting close to where Firefly decided to give our comrades a…'present'."

_Firefly…?_

Wait a minute—the attacker had been _Firefly?_

_He_ had been the culprit who sent out those beams of searing hot light that managed to destroy parts of the smooth pavement?

Alice froze when she remembered _his_ voice. _"And how are you five going to manage that? _I'm _the one who has the higher advantage—literally."_

"Boy, I can't wait to unleash this sweet baby on that S.O.B."

"Hey." A small shake; Alice blinked as she found both of Firefly's hands on her shoulders and that she was now facing him. Her rational side was telling her to run, but her legs wouldn't move. Firefly tilted his head to the side and asked, "Did you hear what I said?" No, she hadn't. He felt his eyebrow twitched in mild amusement and annoyance. It wouldn't be long until those goons that had been sent would be meeting them.

Alice tried to back away as he leaned closer, his helmet to the left side of her face, but unable to from the firm grasp he had on her. Tinge of hue rose to her cheeks from memories of being in this same type of situation and she clamped her eyes shut. A soft voice whispered itself into her ear.

"Hang on tight and, whatever you do, keep your head down."

_What…?_

He rolled his eyes—wishing she was able to see the action, but later would be grateful that she didn't—and lifted a hand from her shoulder to gesture at himself. When he saw that she still didn't entirely understand by the action he almost smacked himself in the forehead. "Here," He took her left hand and placed it on his right shoulder before repeating the process with the opposite. As a scowl crossed her face Firefly ignored it. And right as she was about to open her mouth to protest the only sound she managed to make was a choked squeal.

Instinctively, Alice wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight grip in hopes that she wouldn't fall. Firefly eased out a soundless chuckle as he kept an arm underneath her legs and supporting the middle of her back. "Relax, would you? I'm not going to drop you."

"What do you think you're doing?" She hissed at him with an unwanted blush on her face.

"What was that?"

"I think it came from over there!"

Her attention snapped down the alleyway, mouth loosely hanging open halfway in an 'O'. It changed into anger as she snapped her attention back to Firefly, ready to yell at him that if he hadn't attacked those men with… with… oh, whatever it was!—she'd demand to know what exactly it had been—then…!

"There he is! I found him! He's down here!"

Firefly turned his head around to look behind him, seeing the lone goon standing ten or so feet away and grinned widely—though he knew no one would be able to see it. He felt something shift in his arms and brought his attention back to Alice, who seemed to be trying to peek over his shoulder to get a look at the henchman. Or trying to get down and make a run for it. It made him both roll his eyes and chuckle at the thought. Honestly, how did she manage to land herself in Arkham City? He forced his mind to clear. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about that.

"You're gonna pay for coming onto Joker's turf! Nobody messes with us and gets away with it!"

"Remember what I said, Alice. And also, try not to scream." He instructed her in a low voice, and then turned his head slightly to gaze back at the trespasser. A humorous laugh escaped his lips and he answered the man with, "'Joker's turf'? Huh. I guess you didn't get the memo. This here district now belongs to Two-Face. And if _you_ have anything in that overly, large skull of yours then you'll know better than to try reclaiming this section."

Now, when Firefly had told her not to scream Alice stared at him. '_Not scream'?_ _What in Heaven's name was going through his head?_ He wasn't planning on using her as a shield, was he? Because she highly doubted that—

Alice wrinkled her nose as she listened to what Firefly was saying to the other. _Again with these weird names!_ She shook her head disapprovingly and felt the need to tell them so. Once more, subconsciously, she realized that this realm may not be as different as the other.

"You're _finished!_"

Firefly unleashed another chuckle—sinister and sarcastic even. "Says _who?_" His hand that supported her back moved and gave a mocking salute to the enraged goon; Alice gave a tiny squeak and her arms squeezed his neck, rather painfully too. With an angered cry, the lackey raised his weapon towards the suited man and pulled the trigger only to be a second too late. The arsonist had sprinted a few steps before his jetpack activated and he took off, leaving in its wake a brief stunning zigzagging light and an echoing scream that tore itself from a young woman's throat.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Haha, poor Alice! So _that's_ what dear Firefly meant when he told her not to scream. :D

Once again, I shall point out a few needed to know fact(s):

I'm basing Firefly off from _The Batman (2004-2008)_ version because—to me—he is awesome. I love the suit design they gave him and also like the voice actor (who is Jason Mardsen; he also voiced as Chase Young from _Xiaolin Showdown_, Haku in _Spirited Away_, and a whole bunch of other shows/movies). That's why when I was writing I kept picturing that version of Firefly. Besides, I find that _The Batman ('04-'08)_ Firefly is a whole lot funnier (generally, cooler, but that's just me) compared to the others. With that, I'd like to move on to thanking each and every one of you who took the wonderful time to review!

Whisperer of Wintersilence: Thanks for the review! Haha, yes, I know I was a smart aleck. And thank you for taking the time to answer the questions; I'm sorry the last chapter wasn't special. But we do need to get the introductions and such out of the way. And with this chapter, I hope it made up for it.

Snowfall Empress: Thank you for the review! I'm happy to hear that Jervis is growing on you; he's just too adorable to hate (well, in my mind he is).

pasty face: Thank you for the sweet review! And yes, Jervis is _definitely_ a lovable idiot. =)

KoK: Thanks again for the review! Also, I believe that… sometime after the fifth or sixth chapter, we'll be introduced to that cool villain you requested for. ;) That's how it looks, but then again it may be sooner (or a little longer) depending on my plot bunnies.

Iris: Thank you for the review!

Ariyana: Thanks for the review!

Pookey: Thank you very much for the review! I'm happy to hear that it's fun to read! Hopefully, it'll continue to stay that way. :)

Now, onward to the questions that you are free to answer:  
1. Was the action scene satisfying enough? Does it need improvement(s) and, if so, what can I do to do so?  
2. Were you surprised that it was Firefly, of all Batman baddies, to make acquaintances with Alice? Think he'll be a true friend to Alice or foe? What's your opinion about him overall (whether it's from this chapter, _Batman_ episodes, or both)?  
3. Would you rather it have been a different Batman baddie and not Firefly? If so, who?

Thank you all once again for the awesome reviews! ;) Please keep them coming, I'd love to hear what you have to say!


	4. Ever Strange Exchanges

Coming Undone  
_Ever Strange Exchanges_

* * *

"I'm pretty sure I told you not to scream." Firefly said—partly in a teasing tone—as he continued to gaze at the teenage female from his seat on the wooden chair, with the back facing between her form and his chest, with his arms folded atop. She furrowed her eyes, staring at him with bleary eyes, at having gained consciousness. "Guess I should've asked you if you got airsick, huh." He said, more to himself rather than to her. But, as for Alice, she wasn't even sure what he was talking about until it came rushing back to her. "… _Please_ tell me you aren't going to freak. Besides, _you're_ the one who fainted on _me_ and had me panicking that you had somehow managed to miraculously get hit by that moron's poor aim."

"I—you—_flying_—I… I don't believe this." Alice huffed as she sat up only to become confused as to why she had been lying on her back in the first place. In fact, as she traveled her gaze across the room, she knew for a fact that she had _no memory_ of _ever_ setting foot in this darkened atmosphere. "Wait… when did I get—I mean, um… when did we—?"

"Oh, right." Firefly scratched the back of his head as he regained her attention. "Welcome to my lair, hideout, haven, apartment—basically, whatever you want to call it."Again another shrug was given as an afterthought; he wouldn't call it 'home', though… "But returning back to your original question; I brought you here, duh. What? Did you expect me to dump you in a dirty, damp alleyway and leave you there, while you were unconscious?"

Had she? Alice wasn't sure so when he started speaking again it was a huge relief because she had no idea how she was going to answer that without making anything awkward—er. _Oh dear,_ she realized that while she had been lost in her thoughts she hadn't paid an ounce of attention to what he had said. And he was staring directly at her—or, she thought he was. It was difficult to tell after all—as the silence consumed them.

"… You weren't listening to a word I was saying just now, were you?"

Alice lowered her head, "… No."

Firefly shook his head, lightly, while he face-palmed himself. In some ways, this reminded him of a conversation he had with Moth one time. Maybe not as bad, but still, it really had him wondering how she managed to land herself a sentence inside Arkham City's walls. "Penguin hasn't sent out invitations and signup sheets to join him, has he?" He really couldn't help but wonder.

"How should I know?" Alice questioned back and it was obvious what his answer was.

"… OK." Wow, that really got him far. He could feel that his patience was wearing thin which he didn't think it was possible—that he _had_ patience to begin with. Then again after having to deal with Moth from time to time perhaps he had unknowingly managed to control his impatience. And maybe also because of the fact that she was a girl and reminded him of someone he knew. Otherwise, he would have given one of his usual snarks instead of 'OK'. Hmm… yeah, that was probably it. "Anyway, why don't we go back to my original question before those pea-brains interrupted us?"

They sat in silence as he stared at her as she did the same with him. In the kitchen the small clock he had been able to salvage was ticking and he really didn't understand why he was sitting here, patiently, for her response. It didn't make sense to him. He was supposed to see Two-Face after dealing with Joker's men, for payment and for another assignment, but obviously that wasn't the case. And Two-Face was _definitely_ not a patient man; he was ruthless, more so once this whole feud with the Joker occurred. Finally he asked, "Alice? You do remember my question from before, right? You know? The one about how you ended up landing inside Arkham City?"

"Yes, I remember."

He lifted a brow. "… So?"

"Yes?"

"Are you going to tell me how you landed yourself here or am I going to have to do some snooping?" He rather that she told him because snooping took time (not to mention effort) and, seeing as how he would be facing the wrath of an impatient ex-district attorney, he would be getting the information from her. "C'mon, Alice, you can trust me." Could she? "I did save your life _twice_ after all."

She gave him a critical look, seeming to mull it over some. "Alright,"

"Hmm, I'm getting the feeling there's going to be a 'but' following after that."

"_But_,"

"Knew it, I totally knew it." Firefly wished that he could pat himself on the back for calling that. Instead, he gave himself a mental pat. Although he was interested to hear what it was her 'offer' was.

Again she paused as if she wasn't sure whether she should speak what was on her tongue or not. "But I want some of my own questions answered."

Firefly blinked.

… OK, he… actually did not expect that.

"So… you mean, like, we'll play that twenty questions game?" He asked as he made hand gestures as if trying to gain a better understanding of what she wanted in return.

Alice gave a small tilt of her head, eyebrows furrowed and cerulean eyes giving away that uncertain expression. "Um… yes? I suppose so…" She had never heard of this 'game' that he spoke of. She swallowed, waiting, as he seemed to have become immobile. "There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"Um…" He shook himself out from his thoughts. "… No? I… guess not." Was there? Hmm, maybe there should be.

"Good. Now my first question is—"

"Whoa, whoa, hold on a minute. I think you were answering _my_ question." He wiggled a finger at her in scolding to which she narrowed her eyes in agitation. "Therefore, you have to answer _my_ question first before you ask me your question. Those are the rules."

"…" Alice frowned… before it turned into a smile. Firefly waited and getting a feeling from his gut that this wouldn't be good. "If I do recall correctly, I distinctly remember that you asked me what my name was. And therefore that was your first question you asked me. And I gave you an answer. So, I believe that it's my turn to ask you a question."

She had to be yanking his chain.

This was just absurd.

"Yeah," He scoffed lightly, "which you refused to answer. It wasn't until I turned it from 'interrogation' to 'introductions'. You remember _that?_"

"But I still answered it, hadn't I?"

He opened his mouth before closing it. "…" Firefly couldn't believe this was actually happening to him. How'd he get roped into this mess to start with? Although… he smirked, this was a bit entertaining. "… Fine, go ahead. But I _still_ say it doesn't count, but whatever. Go ahead and ask me your question so we can get back to my question."

Alice felt her nerves quell from being in overdrive. That seemed to have gone better than what she had figured it would. After giving him a studying look—and when he asked if she had a question at all—she took in a breath, releasing it slowly. "… Are you really… human and… do you have a _real_ name?" She noticed how his body language changed as if to say, 'Are you serious?', before adding quickly, "What I mean is that! … Uh, Firefly isn't your birth name, is it?"

"Well… _duh_." He hadn't processed the fact that he answered her because he was simply too bewildered by her question.

"Well then… what is it?"

If it weren't for the fact that he was still stunned by her two questions—yes, two because she did ask if he was _human_ and if he had a '_real name_'—he would have pointed out the fact that this was her third question and therefore meant it was her turn to answer his first—though she counted it as being 'second'—question. Was she a real loon? Like, the type that should be in a bubbling, happy asylum where doctors would try to actual help cure her? Firefly blinked himself back to the present as he heard her tentative voice break through his thoughts.

"—look, I'm sorry if I insulted you! I really didn't mean to do anything of the kind! I honestly didn't mean—!"

"My name is Garfield Lynns."

Alice stopped in her rambling as she glanced back up at him—she had glanced down at her hands when he hadn't reacted—and met his gaze. He had his chin resting atop his folded arms and head tilted a little to the right. _Wait… did he just tell me his…?_ Alice cleared her throat. "I'm sorry?"

Firefly remained silent and it made her begin to think that he hadn't said anything at all. That changed, however, as he lifted his head and, slowly, removed his helmet from his being. "My 'real' name is Garfield Lynns. Firefly is my alias." He turned his powder blue eyes towards her being and raised a lone blond eyebrow from the facial expression she had on her face. "… What?"

"Hmm…? Oh! Nothing, it's nothing!" Alice assured. She had for a split second wondered if he would somehow hold the same features as that of Blood Dupre who—in reality—held the same resemblance to _him_. Yet, as soon as she saw the structure of his chin it was clear to her then that he held no such role. And, now that she thought about it, she realized she was thankful for it.

… Even though she was not too pleased with how his blond hair color reminded her to that of that creepy Mad Hatter fellow.

"… Uh-huh." Firefly could tell there was _something_ but wouldn't press the matter any further. "OK, time to answer my question. And this time, there are no excuses of not answering." He lifted a finger to cut her off as she opened her mouth. "Let's not start having an argument about that. Besides, you asked me more than one question. You asked me _three_. So chop-chop, Alice, tell me how you got yourself into this '_marvelous_' city."

Somehow she knew he wouldn't believe her.

Then again, who knew? From what the Hatter told her these people had all been patients of an _asylum_ and therefore meant that, since Firefly was _here_, there was a chance that he _would_ believe her. Adding to the fact that he seemed… decent… that is, he wasn't acting like a Peter or like that Mad Hatter fellow. He seemed more like… like…

"You know I would very much appreciate hearing this while we're young." Firefly said as he gave her a bored expression. They didn't have eternity for this, after all.

"You see—"

A sharp beeping sound went off behind her and caused her to jump in her seat from the noise. Garfield made a strangled groan sound in his throat as he stood from his seat, tossing the helmet on the couch beside her, to see to the cause of the noise. She angled her body around to watch him before changing her attention to that of the helmet a few inches away from her to find the dark ruby red orbs staring back at her. Quickly she snapped back to Garfield's frame as he found whatever had been the cause of interruption. Though she was unable to see his face—for his back was facing her—she somehow sensed that there was a scowl on his face.

With Firefly, he knew exactly what it was that had gone off and it wasn't something he was very pleased with. More so seeing as how he was _so very close_ to hearing the tale of how she had been sentenced to life in Arkham City. He gave a noiseless sigh as he set the device back down and composed himself as to not worry Alice. Wait… what? Firefly barely shook his head in hopes to clear his head. Turning back he started over to the sofa and reached over the back, grabbing his helmet. "Guess our little twenty questions are going to have to be put on hold; I've got some business to attend to."

"Wait, you're leaving?" Alice hurried to her feet and kept her cerulean eyes on him. _Calm down, Alice, it's nothing to worry about. Who knows? He may take you with him instead of leaving you all by yourself here—_

"Yeah," He gave after putting his helmet on and heading towards the apartment door; Alice right on his heels. "And if you're worried about being left here alone, don't. You'll be fine. Just, don't think about setting a foot outside this apartment and don't peek out the windows. Someone _may_ be able to see you."

"I can't stay here! What if someone tries to break in?"

"Alice, I said _don't_ worry. Not the opposite. 'Sides, no one's tried to break in yet."

"There's always a first." Alice grumbled and crossed her arms.

Firefly blinked at her, face blank from her comment. "…"

She held her ground; he turned halfway around to face her. The nerves in her stomach, fluttering like butterflies, tightened as they bunched and twisted into uncomfortable knots. Under normal circumstances she knew that she wouldn't be so persistent on somehow finding a way to make him stay, but seeing as how this wasn't any 'normal' circumstances…

"Chill, OK? It won't take me long—"

"I promise not to scream this time."

"—excuse me?"

"And I'll be quiet and won't speak unless spoken to—"

"Hold it. Are you suggesting that I take you with me?"

"—yes." She nodded with a determined glint in her eyes that he had noticed the first time when he had asked for her name.

It took all his willpower not to smack his forehead. There was no way he could bring her with him; Two-Face would be _furious_ if he found out why it had taken him so long—mainly, he'd assume the wrong conclusion—and then another thought struck him… one that didn't settle with him _at all_. Firefly closed his eyes and shook his head. It was clearly out of the question. Reopening his eyes he turned his gaze back to her and opened his mouth to tell her so.

"… Fine," Wait… _what?_ Did he just say…? … Aw crap, he did. He _actually_ did. Again it took all his strength not to release the groan that wanted to escape, to sound, "_But_."

"Yes?"

"You're not coming with me to the meeting. Instead, I'll drop you off to stay with a colleague of mine until this business matter I have is over with." He placed a hand on the top of his helmet as he tried to think of what 'colleague' this would be. There were few—and by 'few' he meant '_very, very few_'—people that he would call an 'ally', perhaps not even that, that he could trust with the task of watching over her. And he knew they wouldn't be exactly… _thrilled_… with the idea of having to be a _babysitter_.

Who would? Especially with the career path they had chosen?

Meantime, Alice was praying and keeping her fingers crossed that this 'colleague' of his was not the Mad Hatter. It would do no good having run away from that madman when she would end up being in his care again—with the chance that he'd use those mind control things on her to keep her in place. That's when she remembered Joker. If it was the same Joker from the Country of Hearts then there was the chance that she could ask him for help. _But _is _he the _same _Joker?_ She started to chew on her lower lip. _And even if it was the same Joker, he won't be too happy to find out that I was with Firefly. Not after the 'exchange' he had with his henchmen. So… that has to wait until the right moment arrives._

Honestly, Firefly mused, that there was someone in the city that owed him a favor. Somehow that he felt would do a good job in keeping an eye on her without having to worry. He felt his eye twitch again and started to discreetly think to himself if he was coming down with the flu. And, oddly enough, it seemed to have done the trick in helping him think of the person that he could leave Alice with for an hour or so.

"Let's go Alice." He grinned, mentally patting himself on the back, as he opened the door and motioned for her to exit first. Not bothering to take note of her curious look that she gave him, he closed the apartment door and waved for her to follow him as he headed towards the stairs that they would take to get to the roof. Mainly it was because they needed to hurry and also because he was trying to figure out how to give her a few warnings about the person who she was going to be in the presence of.

* * *

Author's Notes:

I apologize for, not only the shortness of this, but also how late this chapter is; I had wanted to finish rewriting a few chapters for my current works, but my plot bunnies just can't seem to focus on those. So, I figured that if I posted the next chapter they would become a little more cooperative (more so). Chapter five is in the works at the moment (haha, even though chapters—some out of order (of course)—after that are pretty much done) but, as I made clear, my plot bunnies are having _way_ too much fun with this. Then again, so am I (LOL).

I suppose, if you're wondering why Firefly was comparing certain parts of the conversation he was having with Alice to Moth, I'm not quite sure. I think it mostly has to do with how I've been watching _The Batman_ episodes.

Now, onward to the thanking to all you wonderful reviewers who took the time to review! :D You have no idea how incredibly happy it makes me when I receive them and –even better—read the responses! XD

KoK: Thank you so much for the wonderful review! :D Haha, I'm still trying to picture how Firefly and Elliot (from the Country of Hearts) are similar, though. Like, I'll start seeing the similarities and then it disappears. LOL, guess I just have to start rereading the manga! I also figure that it should be chapter six or seven that we'll be seeing "you-know-who". XD

Whisperer of Wintersilence: Thank you for the special review (don't worry; I actually laughed at the comment)! Haha, don't worry about not knowing who Firefly is; I do advise you to watch _The Batman_ episodes starring him in it. Because for one: it's awesome. And two: you're also reading _Priceless_. Now, as for Firefly being the/a love interest for Alice… well, you'll just have to wait and see. ;)

Ariyana: Thank you for the review. Sorry that there was no Two-Face like you were hoping for. I wish I could give you an estimate of when Alice will meet him (or, him making a physical appearance), but at the moment I can't; my plot bunnies are uncertain at this time. Sorry! But since Firefly _is_ working for him, at the moment, then I'll see if I can somehow squeeze a little scene of Two-Face in, 'kay? :)

Iris: Thank you for the review. Yeah, the reason why I picked Firefly to be the second person Alice actually meets is because… well… he's pretty awesome (plus, I had tried searching to see if there were any stories that involved him, but I couldn't find any). Another reason is because I've also been watching _The Batman_. Also (if you're interested that is) I plan to write a Firefly fic (in _The Batman_ category). However, it's still in the development stage so we won't be seeing it anytime soon.

pasty face: Thank you very much for the review! Maybe one of these days—err, chapters—she'll be able to have a break… or maybe not since this _is_ Alice we're talking about. :)

Snowfall Empress: Thanks for the sweet review. Perhaps Firefly did read Lewis Carroll's novel or he ended up hearing too much of it from Jervis Tetch. You're also the second person to ask about Firefly being a romantic interest for Alice; I can only say, wait and see. ;3

krazysmiles: Thank you so very much for the review! You're right about how this story is just starting to warm up. Riddler will definitely be making an appearance; I already have the scene where he and Alice meet written out. As for Scarecrow… he may sneak out of the shadows and enter in the story. ;) As for Jervis, yes: he'll be reunited with beloved Alice… eventually. LOL, Jervis isn't too pleased with that result, but he will be reunited with her even if it's not as soon as we'd like it to be (because there are a few other villains that Alice will be meeting). XD

Lizzy: Thanks for the review, I'm glad to hear that you like it so far! As for the update for _Priceless_ it has been updated—just thought I'd tell you if you haven't noticed it yet. I actually updated that one first before this one seeing as how I noticed I still needed to add a few details to this chapter that I somehow didn't noticed to type up. Anyway, as I've said in the first chapter of _Priceless_, it will be updated every Wednesday (since, it's only drabbles). And I'm very happy to hear you're enjoying both this and that! :D

Queen: Thanks for the review! And thank you for the compliment! :) I just hope it won't change like it sometimes does.

Here are some more questions to think about:  
1. Did this chapter feel too rushed?  
2. Does Firefly seem OK, like characterization wise?  
3. How do you think Firefly will react once he hears Alice's story? Do you believe that Alice _should_ tell him everything?  
4. Who do you think Firefly is taking sweet Alice to (LOL, yes—another baddie shall appear!)? I'll give thee a hint: he was a member of "Team Penguin" in _The Batman (2004-2008)_, in season four (and the episode itself was called _Team Penguin_).  
5. Also, I'm curious, how does the thought that Firefly be a 'love interest' for Alice sound? Because I've been asked this question if Firefly will be or not and… I just want to hear how everyone thinks about the idea.

Once more thank you all for taking the time to deliver those beautifully awesome reviews! Please keep them coming so I can know what you liked about it, what I can improve, and so forth! XD Especially on characterization.


	5. From Arsonist to a Contortionist Thief

Coming Undone  
_From Arsonist to a Contortionist Thief_

* * *

"Keep up, Alice; don't want you getting lost and then found by unwanted attention."

Alice averted her eyes back to Firefly's retreating form and dashed after him until she was nearly beside him. In some ways, she felt that this was not the place she had come dashing out of, but one never knew. When she had asked him who this 'colleague' of his was he hadn't given her an answer. Adrenaline gushed and pulsed in her veins as she, unknowingly, huddled closer to Firefly—who had cast a quick glance in her direction and smirked beneath his helmet—as they came to a halt before the warehouse. It didn't sit well with her on how he didn't have the decency to knock, but rather opened the door and beckoned her inside.

Relief flooded through her upon seeing that the interior was nothing compared to the interior that was the madman's home. Yet it was short lived as her imagination was running wild, trying to conjure an image of what this person he was taking her would look like.

"I won't remind you again to keep up." Firefly chided in a teasing type of tone and she noticed that he had already started off into the depths of the warehouse. Cheeks flushing with embarrassment, she started after him, but allowed her gaze to travel about. Few wooden crates were stacked and across from them were a group of barrels that had been stacked like a pyramid. Cardboard boxes were placed in their own small area as well that were on the same side of the room as the crates.

Firefly paused, a few feet away from the stairs that led up to the platform, turning around to face Alice as she finished in her dillydallying. It was both rather amusing and annoying in watching her, the corner of his lips twitched upward, as she took her time in following him while glancing to and fro. It made him question, once again, whether or not she was sane—_actually_ sane. And it made him question himself whether this was a good idea or not. Then again, he released a small scowl upon realizing that, _why_ did _he_ even _care?_ He swallowed it down as soon as she halted in front of him with curious eyes.

On the way here he had trying to find a way in how he could give her a heads up about the person she'd be staying with for the time being until the meeting he had with Two-Face was over. And again it realization struck him that he _didn't have to come back_, that he could leave his colleague to deal with this, but… he really did want to hear her story of how she got here. How did he end up getting into these interesting situations again?

"Um… are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, definitely! Just peachy…" He grumbled softly and shook his head. He would have all the time in the world to ask her questions as soon as this meeting with Two-Face was over and done with. "Listen, before you meet this… colleague… of mine, I think its best that I give you a heads up, if you will."

She waited; dread building up in the pit of her stomach. "Why?"

"Yes, I'm quite interested to know, too."

Both their heads turned towards the direction of the sound and watched—one with baited breath, the other suppressing a defeated groan—as the _something_ suddenly came squirming out from a tight space between stacked boxes. The being landed with a soft '_thud_' and it came to Alice that it was some_one_ and not a some_thing_. And she watched with even widened eyes as the person rose from its former position, like a snake rising from the woven basket to the sound of its master's music, head angled too far to the side that would not pass as being normal.

"Ooh, wait, do you mean warn her about this pose?" At the question he maneuvered himself into the pose which he spoke of that Alice simply could not believe was actually before her. "Or perhaps you mean this one?" Again the being moved into a different stance, "Oh, _I know_. I bet you were referring to this one."

Firefly placed a hand on his face and closed his eyes, feigning the urge to fry the thief like an overcooked steak.

Some kind of noise struggled tried to escape her, to sound, but it—whatever it was—was caught fast in her throat. If it were possible, her eyes would have popped out of their sockets by now as she continued to remain, steadfast, staring in disbelief at the sight before her. Never in her entire life—both in reality and dream—had she seen it, _this_…! A voice, fuzzy and distant, spoke to her though she couldn't make out what it was saying. All she could really focus on was the impossible pose the man—_is it even human?_—stood in.

Firefly started to raise his hand towards her arm upon seeing how her skin paled. "… Alice?"

He never would receive a response—verbally, that is, because as the saying goes: 'actions speak louder than words'—because before he finished saying her name he watched, eyes wide in some type of foreign emotion to him, as her body fell limp to the floor. Distantly he heard a low hum of disapproval come from his associate and then something muttered (which sounded along the lines of, 'Was it something I said'?).

"Nice going, Rags." Firefly scowled, his tone laced with sarcasm as he sent a glare at the thief before turning his attention to the—now fainted—Alice and kneeling beside her, gently pressing a hand against her forehead. Shuffling met his ears and he didn't need to glance up as Ragdoll loomed over them, hands on his hips, with a bemused expression plastered on his face. It didn't take a genius to know why.

"_Ooh_, let me guess, she's a replacement for Blaze. Am I right?"

The temptation to zap the triple-jointed contortionist was overwhelming but somehow managed to ignore the impulse to commit the act—for now. Instead, he scooped the unconscious young woman into his arms and rose to his feet with a sense of déjà vu. Thankfully—not—it didn't last long as Ragdoll's giggles broke through and he turned his focus back to him. It was an understatement to say that he was reconsidering who he should leave Alice with. "_Not_ funny. Didn't you get the hint not to do those backbends and whatnot in front of her?"

"Hmm…" He shrugged with a sheepish grin.

Firefly rolled his eyes to the response that was given. Typical, Ragdoll never could handle anything quite so seriously—unless provoked. What was the point of asking? He shouldn't have even bothered. He moved past him and up the stairs, ignoring the onslaught of intrigued comments and questions that trailed behind him. Reaching the top, the arsonist paused in his step as he scanned the area for someplace to set Alice on.

"I meant no disrespect by that. It's not every day you drop by, announced, with a—hey! What do you think you're doing? That's _my_ bed! I don't recall ever mentioning you can place her there—!" Ragdoll exclaimed as soon as he turned his attention away from his hand to his company. "You could have had the decency to _ask_ me first."

"_You're_ the one who went and made her faint."

"… True," He hummed and placed a hand under his chin, "still. _You're_ the one who brought her here. Speaking of which, _why_ did you bring her here? More importantly," He paused as his flicked his gaze over her, "_who_ is she? I think I would remember a pretty face like hers in Gotham's breaking news. Err, don't take that the wrong way; I would _never_ hit on a woman who was in a relationship with another… unless… is she your girlfriend?"

"_Ragdoll_,"

"Hmm, I'm taking that as a 'yes'."

"Look, I need you to look after her until I get back. That's all." Firefly decided best to dismiss Ragdoll's words. Time was of the essence and the longer he stayed here, the better chance he gained of having his life be decided by Two-Face's stupid coin.

Ragdoll blinked with a tilt of his head at an unbelievable angle. "… Oh? I didn't know I put an ad in the paper saying something about babysitting…" He rubbed his chin in thought, keeping his gaze on Firefly before it ended up lingering to the fainted teen. "Which reminds me, who is she again? You never did tell me," A pause emitted from the sentence as the gears in his brain turned, "… wait. You didn't kidnap her from the outside, did you—?"

"You can't be serious." Firefly scoffed. "If I had managed to breakout without Tyger knowing, don't you think I would be far, _far_ away from here and taking on a new identity so they wouldn't be able to find my trail? Besides, I _don't_ do kidnapping." Well, unless he was paid to do it he would. "And if I did kidnap her, _why_ would I come back _here?_"

"Just double-checking is all." He released a few chuckles that lasted less than a second.

Again the arsonist rolled his eyes at the thief. "Her name's Alice. And, as you've already figured out, she's new here. Figured she could stay with you because I don't trust her hanging out at my place, alone, where she could get into stuff or worse—redecorate everything and making me have no clue where everything is. Besides, you owe me."

Ragdoll blankly stared at him, "I owe you eighty something dollars."

"It's like you're paying me that money back by babysitting for me."

"You do know I had plans of my own." Ragdoll stated as he followed Firefly down the stairs. It was true, what he said. He did have plans of his own that involved a heist. True, there was no deadline because he wasn't hired by anyone, but that wasn't the point. "Couldn't you just threaten that if she touches anything while you're gone you'll fry her or something? She seems like no tigress—"

Firefly knew who exactly he was referring Alice to without needing to ask.

"—and she, not only appears, but _acts_, weaker than Harley." Then again he knew looks could be deceiving. "… You're not going to change your mind, are you?"

"Mmhmm,"

Ragdoll frowned, shoulders dropped and posture slightly slouched. "Fine, I'll look after the pipsqueak until—how long do you plan on leaving me with her?"

"About an hour or so, maybe even a little longer."

"Fantastic." Ragdoll noted in a mumble traced with dull sarcasm. Even if he agreed to this it didn't mean he would hide his irritation.

"Chill, would you." Firefly left no room for it to be taken as a question. "It won't be as bad as you think. And if it helps any, she's quite… entertaining to watch." You could hear the grin in his voice; Ragdoll's frown deepened a little more from it. "Like I said, I should be back in a few hours." He opened the door and stepped out, spinning around to give a semi-mock salute before activating his jetpack and taking off in a beam of bright light.

Muffled grumbles came from the thief as he shook his head after the arsonist. Using his foot, he closed the door and turned around deciding to do a few summersaults and back flips until reaching the foot of the stairs. He climbed them and, once reaching the top step, turned his body towards the sleeping Alice.

He really couldn't understand it.

Firefly was never one for charity work.

That was, unless he got something out of it.

And the longer he watched her it became undoubtedly obvious that the girl was not _that_ type of girl. Part of him didn't understand why he came to that conclusion, but somehow his subconscious convinced him of the assumption. And it also gave him another assumption, one that no one could convince otherwise even if born with a sharp silver tongue: that she did not whatsoever belong inside Arkham City. Ragdoll blinked, waking from his daze, mentally berating himself and started down the stairs again.

With any luck, she'd be out of it for the rest of the day.

Then again, luck was always peculiar for him.

* * *

Where in the name of Jabberwocky was she?

Jervis Tetch felt the anger—the frustration—ebb away as worry gnawed itself into the pit of his stomach and replacing the emotions that had been swirling (than again it was an ongoing cycle, for one moment he would be completely enraged before overcome with ill worry) previously.

Hours had passed since the dreadful incident occurred; the Hatter took charge, quickly dashing after her but it proved rather useless. He wasn't even sure if this was correct street she had taken.

And, what's worse, is the darken city was vast and wide—enormous—which made the chase be like that of searching for a needle in a haystack.

Depression gripped him at the very thought—at the _reality_.

Not just the realization of that, but also the realization of what creatures ran within the city walls: the Riddler and his small group of followers; goons of that were working for Joker or for Two-Face; Scarface and his gang; Zsasz and all others who worked alone; Tetch clenched his eyes shut, unable to handle the thought. Blast it! He should have kept the chip on her for a little while longer. Then none of this would have happened—_happening_.

Examining the intersection he now entered, Tetch could only hope that the young girl had enough luck in avoiding all the residents. His heart sunk as he knew; deep down, that the odds were against her. He merely hoped she wouldn't cross paths with Zsasz and the Joker.

Because, even though none of them would admit it, out of pride or denial, those two were the worst.

Tetch heaved a sigh and brought his gaze to the clouded sky hanging, gloomily, over the city.

"Oh _Alice_," He sighed once again as he let his head drop and stared at his gloved hand, "I dearly hope you are safe." Clenching his eyes shut he tried to clear his head once more in order to continue on with his search. His head lifted and, reopening his eyes, he reexamined the intersection he arrived at.

With a newfound optimistic attitude, he tried to place himself in Alice's shoes as he tried to see which road seemed more approachable and less likely the most dangerous—even though there was no such thing, least not in Arkham City with all the crazies—and finally decided upon which path to take.

And besides, if all else failed—or, in other words, about another hour passed—he could always see about 'hiring'—by that, it's really use his mind control chips—on a few of Arkham's inmates to help him in his search.

Though, he did prefer if none of his ex-cellmates knew about her… for a few perfectly well known reasons.

* * *

Alice stirred as consciousness, once more, called itself to the frontline. She, with momentary bleary eyes, blinked up towards the ceiling and knew, with a dishearten heart, that everything wasn't a dream. More precisely: the part where that… _person_… had bent himself into unimaginable structures of stances; she willed those memories away. Why had Firefly—_Firefly!_ She bolted up and gazed about the platform, ears strained for that familiar buzz or some sudden remark, for any sign of said person.

There was none.

"Firefly," She called in a small whisper as she stood and swept her gaze across the area, "Firefly?"

"… Garfield?"

"_Ooh_, you're on a first name basis with Firefly? My, my and here I thought there really wasn't _anything_ going on between you two from his lack of response."

She swerved around to find that same unbelievable person-thing leaning against the railing of the stairs. However, unlike previously for their encounter, he merely stood straight with hands folded behind his head with one leg bent back as if he were leaning against a more stable surface. On his masked face there was a wide grin planted there at her obvious confusion of what he meant by that. Originally, he had been rather disappointed to seeing her up, but finding that baffling her was—maybe—a little more fun. Just maybe, "Oh don't worry! Rest assured that I won't let him know I was right."

It would be an understatement if Alice claimed she didn't understand what he was talking about, "Pardon?"

"Tell me, what kind of profession are you in?"

"'Profession'…?" Alice repeated the word, subconscious still on guard, from the sudden change of topic.

"Ya'know," He shrugged nonchalantly before finally taking notice that she really didn't have a clue. It dawned on him that maybe it wasn't the usual—if they could call themselves such—type of crazy ploy she had committed. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more it seemed clear that that was why Firefly had avoided the question. He'd be sure to strangle every little bit of information out of the arsonist. "… Never mind, in fact, I have a better idea Alice."

Her nerves fluttered about from the way he said that, in a sing-song type of voice. It didn't settle well with her any better with how that grin on his masked face seemed to widen a little more and it appeared to be more evil than good. "I don't think Firefly would be too happy about this 'idea' of yours, sir." Would he? She barely knew the man and if he had even told this person—who she still had no clue what his, taking from the tenor of his voice, name was!—certain facts.

"Oh, I'm sure he won't mind. It's harmless, really." Ragdoll slouched in his stance and stared at her.

"I'm not sure…"

"If Firefly figured that I was… remotely… dangerous, I wouldn't be graced with your person at this very moment. Besides, my idea is to show you around the city; I can tell you're new here, after all." Ragdoll cracked his neck a few times while watching her reaction from the corner of his eye; her cheeks visibly flushed. "And I would love for us to become friends, best friends even if you preferred."

Alice blinked. _Huh?_

Was it possible she could wake up from this bizarre—more so—dream? Or find something that would take her back to the Country of Hearts, or better, her home?

"Though you may want to not get _too_ friendly with me," Ragdoll grinned a little more, "I do have a feisty kitten that dislikes having my attention turned away from her for too long." At this he mentally snickered—one because of the even more confused expression on her face and, two, because of how untrue that statement was. "As the same can be said for Firefly, only visa versa I'm sure."

"…" Alice stared at him before scanning the platform once again in search for the small animal he had mentioned. Ragdoll seemed to either ignore the action or hadn't paid attention, otherwise he would have asked her. But instead he was busy plotting and scheming to really notice at the moment. She, meantime, found neither trace nor sign of a feline present and turned her attention back to him. And that's when it dawned on her what he had said about Firefly. "W-What…?"

Ragdoll cocked his head, "'W-What' what?", he mimicked.

"What you said…" Alice lifted a finger at him before remembering it was impolite to point and quickly dropped her hand. "About… you know…"

"I know?" He arched an eyebrow from underneath his mask. This really was entertaining; Firefly had been right, after all. Her reactions, in some ways, reminded him of Harley—he couldn't fathom where that comparison had come from—but found it to be rather amusing than annoying. "Come, come Alice. Spit it out."

"Er… never mind."

Ragdoll quirked an eyebrow, but shrugged. "So, Alice, as I suggested, shall we?" He waved her to follow him and descended the stairs without waiting for some type of answer from her. It gave Alice no choice but to hurry down after him. "Let's see, is there any sights you want to see first? No? Alright, I can think of a few places that are worth taking the time to see. And I know you'll be fascinated by the sight, too. Plenty of people are… well, _would_ be considering…" He trailed off and gave a casual shrug of his shoulders with a sly grin plastered on his face.

"I don't know…"

He tossed his head back to look at her and hide his scowl, "Why not? Had Firefly promised to give you the grand tour?"

"Well, no, but—"

"Ooh, let me guess! You want Firefly to show you around, hmm?" He hummed and, if his mask was removed, would've wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively. But perhaps he didn't have to for her cheeks brightened just a tad bit and that earned another laugh from him. Yet, as soon as he did, that seemed to earn him a sharper glare from her. Apparently, she didn't take well to this type of teasing. "Oh, my dear, you really need to learn to live a little!" Again he released a gleeful giggle that Alice found beyond uncomfortable. "So, shall we?"

"I still don't know about this." Alice bit her bottom lip and shifted from one foot to the other. "Hadn't Firefly given…"

"… 'Given'…?"

_I don't know. Maybe something like specific instructions? You know orders that revolved of staying indoors?_ She thought to herself with a sigh. Had Firefly even considered laying down rules? _Then again, Alice, you barely know the man! Do you honestly believe he would have done something like that? If he was considerate he wouldn't have left you alone with some… some…!_

"If you're worried about me modeling off some of neat poses I'll give you my word that I will restrain myself from doing said postures." For the moment that is, he would—and will—later on, though. "It'll be fun." Maybe… for him, it would be. The same couldn't be said for her at the moment. "And I promise I won't let anything happen to you." Eh, that was partially true. Firefly had left her with him and there was a chance that, should something happen to her, it would be on his head. And he didn't feel like having his ass burnt off today.

"… I suppose—"

"Great!" Ragdoll exclaimed and before she knew it he was standing beside her with an arm around her shoulder. "I know the perfect place you should see first that will really, and I mean _really_, take your breath away and leave you _speechless_."

* * *

Author's Notes:

Sorry this chapter hadn't been posted sooner; my plot bunnies were having too much fun with all the different types of scenarios they could place Alice in. And then there's the fact with school and life in general.

Important facts to know about: Yes, I decided to bring in the ever famous triple-jointed contortionist thief, Ragdoll! At the beginning of starting this story I hadn't given it much thought of having him involved but my plot bunnies liked the idea of having him become a part of the story. Like Firefly, I'm basing Ragdoll off from the TV show (_The Batman, 2004-2008_). And yes, I know, Ragdoll _is_—originally—one of the villains for Flash. But Rags is my third favorite villain from DC and, if not to the TV show, I would never have given it much thought of bringing him in (or aware of his existence, even).

As for Ragdoll's comment—("_Ooh_, let me guess, she's a replacement for Blaze. Am I right?")—he is referring to Jane 'Blaze' Blazedale, who appeared in _The Batman (2004-2008)_ season five, episode "_White Heat_". I really want to see that episode again; it's one of my many personal favorites (yes, I know, I have way too many favorites, but can you really blame me?).

With that out of the way, it's time to thank each and every one of you who took the time to leave me a lovely review! :)

Whisperer of Wintersilence: Thanks again for the review, Wintersilence! LOL, yeah, I guess I can see why you'd rather have Firefly be a candidate to win Alice's heart than Jervis (poor Jervis). But seriously, go watch _The Batman_ episodes; they are awesome. And I have a feeling that you'll like them. ;)

Lizzy: Thank you for the nice review (for both this and _Priceless_)! Hope you weren't disappointed to see that it was, in fact, Ragdoll that Firefly took Alice to (though I'm pretty sure it's the opposite). :)

KoK: Thank you so much for the wondrous review! Bane would have been a good choice to use (I hadn't given him much thought) until I remembered that he, Killer Croc, and Scarecrow had "escaped" during Arkham Asylum during Joker's takeover. Moth would have also been a good choice, but after the impression I got from _The Batman_, I figured Firefly wouldn't quite trust him with this important duty. And now that you mentioned how Firefly and Elliot are similar… I can _totally_ see the resemblance, LOL. :D And even better news: I finished "The Bloodstream" today! I've sent it to my beta, so now all we have to do is wait for the revised draft to come back. :D

Iris: Thank you for the review. Moth may sometime come into the story, but I'm not entirely positive upon when. As for him and Alice having the same characteristics, could you be kind enough to tell me how? I've been trying to see if there are similarities, but I've come empty handed.

Ariyana: Thanks again for the review. Again, sorry that no Two-Face showed up; I really did try to see how I could somehow fit him in (this chapter or the next) yet it didn't work out. :( But don't worry! My plot bunnies are doing their best to see how they can have him incorporated.

Snowfall Empress: Thanks again for reviewing! I fully agree with you there; Firefly (hopefully) won't freak out when Alice does finally get the chance to tell him her origins. I also hope that you're satisfied with the scene of Jervis. It was actually supposed to be in the next chapter, but… I figured we should all see what our lovable Hatter is up to.

Here are some more questions to ponder about:  
1. Where, oh where, do you think Ragdoll is taking Alice?  
2. What could Ragdoll possibly have up his sleeve?  
3. Is he really showing her around the city? Or do you think he's still planning on committing that heist he had been planning on?  
4. And, if he is, what'll happen to poor Alice? Is he planning on using her for a distraction or some other type of assistance?  
5. Will Firefly or Jervis be lucky enough to make it in time and stumble across them?


	6. The Unexpected Visitor

Coming Undone  
_The Unexpected Visitor_

* * *

Perhaps she should have known Ragdoll's true intentions from the start, that he had no desire to become friends, yet it was rather pointless to keep reminiscing about it now. With a tired sigh, Alice hugged her knees to her chest in an attempt to help keep warm. Frostbite bit at her skin and it was hard for her to believe that there were clumps of snow here and there _inside_ the building.

At least Ragdoll had been truthful about one thing: the scientist certainly did live up to his name.

* * *

"_I can see why he dubs himself that." Alice said quietly as she continued to gaze at the icy estate awhile longer. That quickly changed when a deep, throaty chuckle caressed itself into her ear._

"_Oh, but that really is his surname—well, he did have to alter the spelling…"_

_She turned to face the carefree man with a fixed stare. "Whatever do you mean?"_

"_What do you think what I mean?" Ragdoll hummed in response as he spun away with quick, rapid movements only to have his masked face mere inches from her own. Alice blanched when she saw the position he had his body in. It was still amazing to know that he was even _human_ with the way he could twist and bend his body parts into all types of gruesome structures. Her action earned another hearty laugh from him. "His last name is spelled 'F-R-I-E-S'."_

_His finger wagged itself in front of her face as she started to open her mouth. "But that doesn't mean it's pronounced like '_fra-hi-z_'. Oh no, no, no. It's pronounced as '_free-z_'. Henceforth his 'codename'… even though, it's not all that much of a codename…" Ragdoll rubbed his chin in thought, a small smile still etched on his face. "It's not even all that creative if you really think about it."_

* * *

Quickly realizing her current predicament, Alice chanced another glance at her captor. His back was still facing her as he continued to do his… whatever it was that he was doing.

She had also noticed when she and Ragdoll had snuck into the large room that there were ice sculptures—all of them in the same shape, seize, and pose—of a woman. Before having entered the premise, the triple-jointed contortionist had given her specific instructions: the two important rules being not to speak and to remain out of sight; however, unfortunately, curiosity had gotten the better of her.

Carefully, she approached one of the sculptures as if in some kind of trance or daze. The detail on it was quite remarkable and breathtaking, especially when it came to the face. It was so very lifelike and Alice couldn't help feeling a bit… envious… of her which was completely absurd and ridiculous. It was an ice sculpture.

But… it could be based off a living person, couldn't it?

Her thoughts swept her away as she continued to stand there and that's what caused her to miss the warning hiss that Ragdoll sent her way (something like: "What did I tell you, you _stupid girl!_") and it wasn't until something extremely cold ensnared her upper arm that brought her back to the present. Heart hammering against her chest, Alice gave a startled scream at the sight of the creature—for it couldn't possibly be human… could it?—and tried to break free.

And… well… the rest was pretty much history.

She soon got quite the shock when it spoke and it wasn't until she calmed down a bit to see that the person within the suit was, in fact, human. He, judging by the voice, questioned her, wanting to know who she was and why she was trespassing on his territory. With no other choice, she was forced to answer his questions and was left praying for that she'd awaken from this dream. There may be a small chance that she would reawaken in the Country of Hearts because, truly, that was a better place to be than this new one.

Part of her wondered if Ragdoll was still lurking about in the shadows, but knew, deep down, he had abandoned her without a second thought. Perhaps she shouldn't have pushed Garfield in letting her go with him. She should have just stayed at his apartment, quiet as a mouse, waiting for him to return. Oh, if only…

After answering the strange man's questions, he returned back to his work and Alice was wondering if she dare try to escape. Would she be able to? That was… doubtful. She may be able to outrun him, but what good would that do when the tile floor was like walking on ice? Oh, this truly was dreadful and disheartening.

Time seemed endless as she waited for what her sentence would be. What would this being do to her? The Hatter's words came back to her on how this place was where inmates of an asylum now roamed and therefore there was no telling on what he would do to her. He may end up killing her. But would she wake up and find it was all a dream—a nightmare? Or… would she not wake up to find herself back in her sweet home?

Why did she leave the Country of Hearts? She should have known better. She should have known that it wouldn't work. Even if she was homesick, she still had her friends. She had Julius and Boris, Elliot and Ace, and so many other important people close to her heart that she cared deeply about. Well, except maybe Peter because she really was sick of his harassment. And the more she gave it thought the more she realized that it was his fault to begin with. If he hadn't dragged her off then she wouldn't be in this situation. She wouldn't be here, dealing with a whole new environment and people, and she would be in the safety of her home!

Oh, what was she going to do?

Alice closed her eyes as she tried to keep it together. Now was not the time to cry, especially since any tears she may try to spill would end up freezing on her cheeks. She needed to focus on how she was going to wake herself up and get home. She needed to find a way to escape from this mad place and—what was that buzzing sound?

Eyes snapping open, Alice jerked back in time to see the familiar figure fly into the room and her lips broke into a smile. "Garfield!"

His head, upon hearing her voice, had turned in her direction and—although he would _never_ admit it to anyone, let alone himself—mentally gave a sigh of relief. From where he hovered in the air she appeared to be unharmed, physically, but her body shook from the below freezing temperatures. Quickly, like a flash of lightning, he stood before her and examined her before cursing under his breath. Her nose wrinkled, obviously having heard his choice of words, but refrained herself from commenting.

"Alice! Are you alright?" asked Garfield and as soon as the words left his mouth he wanted to smack himself for asking such a stupid question. That and he soon realized that… he, honest to God, shouldn't even care about her wellbeing.

"As you can see she is unscathed."

Firefly sent him a scowl which went unseen due to his helmet. "Freeze, you do see that she's not some Harley Quinn or Catwoman."

"She is the Harley Quinn to Jervis Tetch's Joker, is she not?"

… _Oh_-kay…

Say what now?

"Huh?"

Mr. Freeze regarded the arsonist with an indifferent expression. Behind him, Alice couldn't help but shuffle a little closer to Firefly due to the warmth radiating from his jetpack. But something told her that part of the cold wasn't due to the temperature of the building. Again, Mr. Freeze said in a neutral tone, "Alice Liddell. Did you not know that is what she claims her name to be?"

"Well. From what she told me that _is_ her name."

"Yes. And it is from a children's storybook. And who do we know that resides in Arkham that has an obsession with that very storybook—with that very same character?"

"Excuse me, but I'll have you know that my name _is_ Alice Liddell!"

Firefly sent her a warning glare for her to shut up, but it was pointless. It wasn't as if she had x-ray vision now, did she? Nope. And that meant he shouldn't have even bothered. Instead he focused his attention back on Freeze and cocked his head to the side. "I don't remember Tetch ever having a sidekick. And I don't know about you, but never once have I seen her back at the asylum and never once have there been talk of a missing female Tyger guard. So how could he possibly have gotten his hands on her?"

"That is something you would have to ask her or Tetch."

"…" Firefly kept back from scratching the back of his head. "… Right…"

"But I'm telling you: my name is—mmph!"

Firefly clamped a hand over her mouth to keep her from speaking. Yet it surprised him to find her struggle dying down as she relished in the warmth radiating from his body. Something he wasn't about to blame her for—it was freezing in here. Who he could and did blame though was Ragdoll. If the guy just stayed at his hideout and kept an eye on her like he was supposed to then they wouldn't be in this situation. "Tell you what, Freeze; you let me take Alice and I'll give you the real culprit that deserves to be frozen solid."

"I know who the thief is and he failed to steal anything from me. But warn him that should he try again, he will find himself facing death's icy grip."

"Facing death's icy grip, yeah, got it." Firefly said as he slowly started to pull the young woman in the direction of the doors that served as both an entrance and exit of the room. "So… are we good here?"

When no immediate response was given, Firefly gently pushed Alice in front of him and steered her in the direction of the exit of the building. "OK, great, it was nice chatting with you, Popsicle!" He yelled over his shoulder before the door swung closed behind him and leaving Mr. Freeze in his solitude once more.

* * *

"Oh, look! You saved your girlfriend—!"

_Thump._

Ragdoll gave a yelp as Firefly smacked him upside the head. "What the hell was that for, Lynns?"

"Oh, gee, I sure wonder." Firefly spat with sarcasm and was half tempted to remove his helmet in order to allow the thief to see the glare aimed at him. "Maybe it's because I told you to keep an eye on her and what do you do instead? You take her on your stupid heist and end up getting her captured by Freeze!"

"I at least told you what happened to her. What else do you expect from me, an apology?"

Alice stared at the two men as they continued to bicker and argue with crossed arms. The change in temperature, although small, was a welcoming feeling yet she wished that she was curled up like a cat in front of a warm fire in the fireplace. How was that man in there able to withstand it? … Was he even a man? What he wore was something to that similar of Garfield's suit, but… the man's skin was blue.

This world was very strange and odd.

And Alice couldn't help except question how much better or worse it was compared to the Country of Hearts.

"—fine, isn't she?"

"No thanks to you!"

"I figured that, since _you're_ the one looking after her, _you_ should be the one to save her. And I told you that I didn't want to babysit her. And I told her when we went in the two important rules to avoid being caught. But did she listen? Nope, obviously not, since Freeze caught her and… well, you know the rest after that."

"Unbelievable, Rags… just… unbelievable."

"Yes, well, look." Ragdoll slide over to the brunette and slung an arm around her shoulders—an action that made Alice uncomfortable. But he paid her reaction no mind as he pulled her closer to him and pressed his cheek against her own. "She seems perfectly alright to me and it doesn't seem that she's at all that traumatized by the event. Although, I must say, I'm surprised she came out non-frozen. You know how Freeze is about unwanted guests."

He pulled away, much to Alice's relief, as he turned his full gaze on her to study her. "Why is that? She holds no resemblance to _her_ so why—"

"Who's "her"?" interrupted Alice.

Before Ragdoll was even able to make some type of remark, Firefly beat him to it by saying, "Freeze's wife. That's who."

It took her a second to register this information. He… the bluish man in there was married? _Who in their right mind would marry—?_ She squashed the question that wanted to vocalize itself down. It would be rude and impolite of her if she asked them if his wife was just like him. "Oh. I see." She wasn't sure what else to say on the matter.

This time, Ragdoll gave a snort. "Sure you do."

_Whack_.

"ACK—damn it, Lynns! What was that for?"

"Eh, I just felt like it."

Ragdoll glowered.

"So… is his wife here, too? Or is she…?" asked Alice, not sure on how to end her last question. She knew, thanks to that crazy Hatter, that the people within the city's walls were inmates from an asylum. And she didn't wish to offend these two by asking if the wife of the man inside the building was insane as, well, them; although, so far the two before her seemed quite sane.

"What do you mean—didn't you see—you went and decided to examine one of the sculptures of her!"

"And whose fault is that?"

Alice watched as the two once again began their bickering; however Garfield did have a point, she knew. It may have been her fault for being so amazed by the ice statue yet none of it would have ever happened if Ragdoll hadn't tricked her into sightseeing and brought her here. This entire thing unreal to her and she really hoped that she would wake up soon.

"Whatever." Alice tried to evade Ragdoll from putting his arm back around her shoulders. "How about to make up for it, I'll tell the tale of the tragic tale of Victor Fries and his beloved wife Nora? Since, oh you know, Alice is new here to Gotham."

Firefly was about to protest, but it died in his throat. Maybe… maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. He did need to gather his thoughts before flying her back to his hideout. Now that Freeze pointed out the obvious, he needed to think about how he would approach the subject. And also because the look in Alice's eyes told him that her curiosity was piqued by Ragdoll's words.

With a wave of his hand in a dismissing manner, all he said was, "Yeah, sure, whatever."

* * *

"Alice! Alice! ALICE."

Tetch knew that if he yelled any louder then he would gain unwanted attention. He was heading in the destination of the Joker's territory and it made his insides squirm at the thought that she may have gone through the gates. But no, she couldn't have. Could she?

Oh, dear. Perhaps he would need to "hire" a few thugs in order to help him locate her.

Oh, how could she run off on him like that? Didn't she know he was trying to protect her? He was her Hatter and she was his Alice. Couldn't she see that? Couldn't she understand that they were destined for each other? Why couldn't that blasted girl see it? Did she enjoy toying with his feelings?

He gnawed on his bottom lip.

No.

No.

Not Alice.

She would never be capable of something so cruel and mean. No. She was just confused and scared. That had to be it. He would find her and make her see and then she'd understand. And then the two could be together forever and drink tea together. And it all would and will be perfect. He just knew it would.

Again, with brighten thoughts, Tetch bore a smile and continued on his way.

"Alice? … Alice? Oh, Alice, dear, where are you?"

There was no answer.

"The Red Queen will have your head should she find you." Tetch told to no one as he cautiously decided to peek inside a nearby trashcan only to be disappointed. Oh, where could Alice be? The poor thing must be terrified out of her wits by now. But that wasn't his fault; it was hers! If that blasted girl hadn't left him—run out on him like that—then she wouldn't be scared out of her skin! The Hatter knew what had to be done once he found her.

He would place that microchip in that pretty bow of hers and keep her under his control.

Yes.

That was the only way.

Unless, of course, some lowlife thug found her and… and…

"Mustn't think like that." He quietly scolded himself as he continued to wander down the empty street. "Must never think like that. I will find Alice. I _will_. And when I do then everything will be absolutely perfect. Yes. Yes, that is the only option. It is." He hummed. "Perhaps she hadn't come in this direction. Oh, yes. That must be why I haven't found her yet. But… oh, dear Jabberwocky, _no_; she would be in Two-Face's territory then.

"Oh, why can't anything ever go my way?" a soft sigh escaped him and his shoulders slumped an inch.

Yet he was suddenly on guard when, to his left, he heard a noise of some kind. Was it Joker's thugs lurking about? This street did lead to the amusement park that belonged to the Clown Prince—or whatever it is that the clown dubbed himself—so it made sense that it was one of his hired help. And it couldn't possibly be someone working for Two-Face or the Penguin. If so, they had a suicide wish.

That or they were just plain stupid for coming all the way over here.

… Wait…

Could it be…?

His eyes widened at the thought that it may be Alice.

Yes.

It could be her.

No.

It is her.

"Alice! Oh, Alice! Thank the Jabberwocky that I found you!" He blubbered as he quickly hurried towards the spot where the noise had come from. "Never, ever, ever run off like that again! Ah, but don't worry, Alice. I'm not angry with you! And to make sure that this never happens again," a hand slipped into his pocket to grasp the chip, "I'll have no choice but to—

"… You're not Alice."

* * *

Author's Notes:

I'm very, very, _very_ sorry for the lateness of this chapter! Life, I'm afraid, decided to get a bit complicated and whatnot. And with the release of _Batman: Arkham City_ back in October 2011 I knew that I would need to rewrite a lot of the chapters; hence why I redid this _whole_ chapter because, if I hadn't, Mr. Freeze's hideout would have been totally inaccurate and wrong (bad enough that I have Jervis's hideout wrong, but there's not much I can do about it at the moment). But to make up for it I decided to skip the whole tour with Ragdoll (my apologies if you had wanted to read it) but hey! At least we're back on track, now, yeah? :)

Although… I do wonder if I should go back and reedit everything since we've got all the details on Arkham City. But for now, I'm going to focus on having this ficlet updated at least once a month to make up for the long hiatus it's been on.

Now without further ado I'd like to take the time to thank each and every one of you for reviewing:

Whisperer of Wintersilence: Thanks for the review! I'm happy to hear that you didn't mind it being Ragdoll that Firefly took Alice to. And also that you (finally, LOL) managed to watch those episodes of _The Batman_. :)

Iris: Thanks for the review.

pasty face: Thank you so much for the review!

KoK: Thank you very much for the review! And ta-da, look who guest starred in this chapter: Mr. Freeze! XD (Hopefully I didn't butcher his character/personality too much.) And do not worry, for we shall see Mr. Freeze again in the future! :D

Snowfall Empress: LOL, I have to agree: I rather have Alice end up with Firefly and not Jervis. I mean, Jervis is one of my favorite _Batman_ baddies but I can't imagine him and Alice (this Alice, at least) as a couple. I can see her ending up with other baddies and one of them is Firefly. I'd say more on who else is the romance option but that would probably spoil the surprise. So I guess all we can do is sit and wait until we hit those chapters, yes?

Lizzy: Thank you kindly for the review! Yeah, honestly I hadn't known Ragdoll was an original villain to the Flash too; I didn't even know he existed until he made appearances in _The Batman_ show. Now as for if we'll be seeing some Ragdoll/Catwoman interaction here… er, I hadn't been planning on it, but who knows?

Jjvalous: Thank you for the review! Haha, yeah, going on a tour with Ragdoll isn't the best of things to do.

Ivory Tears: Thank you for your review! I will admit that, originally, I hadn't planned on Firefly to become one of the main characters but as soon as I wrote these chapters I knew he had to be a part of the main cast. So don't worry, we'll be seeing more Alice/Firefly interactions. ;)

unknown: Thanks for the review.

n: It can be, but it… well… depends. I have a few different, multiple endings for this story. And you'll may be able to figure it out or see why once we get further in. ;)

shisumi12: Thank you for the review!

MissBliss8527: Thank you!

Again, thank you all for the lovely and awesome reviews! Now, who do you think it is that Jervis just ran into? (Yep, that's the only question I'm going to ask here.)


	7. Oh, Stranger

Coming Undone  
_Oh, Stranger_

* * *

The fly back to Firefly's hideout was a quiet one with the exception of the buzzing from his jetpack. Not many goons and thugs were out and about on the streets and that was something Garfield was grateful for. He already hadn't come up with an idea on how he would approach the subject that Freeze brought up and he blamed Ragdoll for it. Why? That was easy. The thief sucked at his attempt of telling a story and Garfield had a sneaking suspicion that most of what little detail was given was made up, especially about the part where aliens abducted Freeze and turned him into a frozen zombie.

Yeah. Garfield now knew that whenever Ragdoll got the chance he would see to it to screw with the brunette's head. Maybe he should have seen if Moth was free to babysit her. At least he would have known better than to drag her off on an attempt to steal from another big baddie.

Once they made it safely inside, Garfield mused on the best course of action to interrogating the female. Then again she did owe him a story and one that caught his interest ever since stumbling on her. Maybe he should just casually say something about it and boom! Problem solved; she would tell her tale of how she ended up here and all of that.

But what if she really was working with the Mad Hatter? Would she tell him if she was? Or was this some type of plan the Hatter formed in that messed up head of his? What if her job was placing those stupid microchips on the back of people's heads so that idiot could have full control over them? But if that were true then wouldn't he already be under the Hatter's control? And wouldn't Ragdoll be, too?

Ugh. This was making his head hurt.

Meanwhile, Alice wasn't sure what to do with herself. Should she sit back down on the old, worn couch that she woke up on or should she take a seat elsewhere? Only once had she been in this small apartment of his and it wasn't as if they knew each other well enough like she did with Julius to feel like this could be a third home away from the second home away from home. So she remained standing where she was, by the door, as Garfield—in a deep state of mind—went straight to his comfy seat and plopping himself down.

Neither of the two said anything which made Alice a bit worried, especially since she soon remembered that he wanted to know how she got here. Had he learned about it when she was with Ragdoll? Or was it because of the exchange between him and the Mr. Freeze? Or could it be both? Another thought hit her as she recalled Mr. Freeze's words. What did he mean by a storybook? And that she claimed her name was Alice Liddell? It was her name.

It is her name.

And who was to say otherwise? She knew full well who she was and no one in this world could say otherwise. _Stay calm, Alice_, she thought to herself. _The answers are bound to reveal themselves in time_. But she wanted answers now—and she wasn't the only one—and, the Lord as her witness, she was going to get them.

"Garfield, what did that man mean when he said I was "claiming" to be Alice Liddell? Because I will have you know that is my name; I'm not lying when I say that. And I would very much like to know—"

"Funny, there are some things _I_ want to know, too. And, if my memory is serving me correctly, it's your turn to answer my question about how you ended up here. So," Garfield kicked back in his seat and folded his hands behind his head. "Alice, go ahead and have a seat because something tells me that this story of yours is going to be a long one. Possibly longer than the story Rags told you. Am I right?"

"Quite possibly…" She softly grumbled and sat after a minute passed. "But… well… you see… I'm not sure where it is I should begin."

"Well, I don't know about you, but starting at the beginning usually helps."

"…"

"What's with that look? You just said you didn't know where to start. I just merely gave you a suggestion."

Alice simply sighed, "I suppose so. Alright, but I do request that you don't think of me as a mentally unstable person. Because I'll have you know that I am a perfectly sane and stabled person." _I think_.

She waited for a verbal response from him as beneath his helmet he gave her a scrutinizing stare.

"Yeah, sure, I'll keep that in mind."

"Thank you." She could tell from his tone of voice that he was being a bit sarcastic by saying that. But… he did give her his word and he had saved her (twice) so it was only fair that she tell him her adventure, right? Of course it was. "Well, you see…"

And so began her tale… of how she awoke in a bizarre place with a funny looking and strange man squatting before her. For, when they got better acquainted, she may tell him about how her real adventure began when Peter White dragged her to the wonderful, wonderful world of the Country of Hearts.

* * *

"_Please_, Garfield; I don't want to return to that madman!" Alice could feel her heart swell with fear as she was helplessly dragged in the direction of the building that she escaped far earlier. What could she say to persuade him into not doing this to her? This Hatter was far worse than Blood and Peter combined. But unfortunately Garfield knew neither of them and therefore that comparison failed to get her point across.

"Would you relax, Alice? I already told you that I won't let anything happen to you."

She gave a soft, pathetic whimper.

"Alice, trust me."

Surprisingly and unfortunately, she found that she did.

… That didn't mean she liked it.

They continued to wander down the street and Alice soon started to recognize the small things… which meant that they must be getting close to that dreadful place with that odd man. And not five minutes later, there they stood, staring at the door to the building. Once again, to be on the safe side, Alice asked Garfield if they really had to do this. Despite the fact he wore his helmet, he gave her a teasing smirk.

"Chill, will you. I've already told you that you have nothing to worry about."

And he tapped his knuckle against the door.

"What? Who is it?" Alice's body stiffened at the muffled voice coming from behind the door; Firefly shot her a semi-concerned glance before turning to face the person who had now opened the door. "Bee Man—what are you—why are you—I'm not on Two-Face's—ALICE. Oh, Alice, my dear! It's you! I cannot believe this; you've come back to me—!"

_Thwack_.

"See, Alice? I told you I wouldn't let anything happen to you."

In front of them, Jervis Tetch howled in pain as he held a hand to his (now) bloody nose. Words tumbled out of his mouth as he doubled over and the two were able to catch something that sounded like, "Great Jabberwocky", along with something about his nose. Alice vaguely wondered if perhaps Garfield broke it.

"Ya'know, if you're trying to stop the blood flow, you should hold your head back." Firefly helpfully informed the whimpering man. "Now, would you mind letting us in? There are quite a few questions that you need to answer, Tetch. Oh, and did I mention that if you try doing anything to Alice that I'll either hit you or set your jacket on fire? No? Well, great, now you know."

The arsonist didn't even wait for the green light to enter. Making sure that Alice stayed close to his right, he shoved the Mad Hatter to the left of them and entered the building. Behind them, Tetch gave a frightful splutter and checked to make sure no one else lurked about before closing the door to his domain and hurrying after them. They could hear him grumble and sniffling on about his nose and how dare he hurt him and calling Alice sweet that it made her skin crawl.

"Listen here, you fiend! I shall have you know that I, the Mad Hatter—"

"Sheesh, no wonder I steer clear of you. You really are a mad one." Firefly made sure to place Alice at the other end of the table and situated himself close to her side. The interior of this place was a living nightmare. Teapots and cups—and were those _scones?_—littered the table and he saw a book of _Alice in Wonderland_ at the other end. "And I can't tell if it's really you that's mad or if you're just so caught up in being the Mad Hatter."

"Silence; I will have you know that Alice is _mine!_ No on, and I mean _no one_, will take her from me!"

Alice felt anger bubble within her at being called _his_. Who did this creep believe he was? Was he this world's version of Peter? There was part of her that wanted to scream at him that she wasn't an item and that she most definitely did not belong to him. But the craze glint in his eyes kept her from saying any such thing.

"Look, Hatter, I want to know just how you managed to kidnap her and how you were even able to sneak her inside the city. And actually, she is going to be taken away from you. One way or another, she will be." Firefly knew it was best not to bring up, especially in front of Alice, how the girls before her all winded up dead because of Tetch. And it may be out of character for him to protect her, but strangely enough he knew that he would try to keep her safe, especially from Tetch's clutches. She had been through quite a bit because of him and, Garfield had to admit, she was easy on the eyes with that pretty face of hers. "Now, start talking."

"Who do you think you are—the dreadful Bat now? You are no hero; you are a fiend! And I swear on my hat that I shall break Alice free from your lies! And when I do then finally the two of us can be happy. Just as how it should be..."

"… You are a downright creeper, you know that?"

"You are not the Red Queen! You are nobody and you have no right to speak to me in such a manner!"

"What're you going to do about it? Chop off my arm or leg or whatever?"

"_NO_. That's not me _at all!_ And the saying is "Off with his head!" or "Off with her head!" and it is ordered by the Red Queen!"

"Whatever. Does it look or sound like I even care? No. That's because I don't care."

"Why, you must be the terrible Jabberwocky. Yes, that's who you are!"

Was he really going to compare him to a fictional character now? Even though he just told him upfront that he _didn't give a crap about it?_ Ugh. This only proved how mentally unstable the man was and that he needed to be locked up in a padded cell with a straightjacket on. Small fry like him with real problems just needed that option and not the one where you're thrown in the walls of Arkham City.

"Listen, Hatter, if you don't explain to me how you found her and how you brought her here then I guess I have no choice but to tell the Tyger guards about this, now won't I? I'm sure they won't be as nice as I am. You do know how much they enjoy beating the crap out of you for answers, don't you? But, you know what? I don't care. In fact, that's the best option for us all really. You know why? Because then Alice won't be here and having to worry about the thugs roaming the streets. She'll be on the other side of the wall of Arkham City and strolling down the now safe and villain free streets of Gotham City.

"Yeah, that really is the better option, isn't it? You know what? I'm going to go tell them right now—"

"No, no, _no!_ You mustn't; you just simply can't!" Hatter cried, falling to his knees, hands clasped together as if he were pleading for his life. "You know how those brutes are! They won't care if Alice is innocent! And Strange promised me that I would get to keep my Alice! So you just can't go to them and—"

Now it was Firefly's turn to interrupt. "_Strange?_"

"Garfield? What is it?" Alice mustered up the courage to speak. The way he said this person's name had her staring at him with concern. And… it frightened her, too. She may have known him for under twenty-four hours, but she knew full well that he didn't seem afraid of anything. He faced thugs, whether they were armed or not, and he came to her rescue when she was caught by that Mr. Freeze fellow. So to hear the tone he used for this person…

"… Garfield?"

He paid her no mind. "You're telling me that Strange knew you had her and yet he let you sneak her in?"

"Y-Yes," stuttered the Hatter.

"_Why?_" the sheer intensity put into that one word made Tetch begin to blubber all over again as if he'd been punched. "Why, Tetch? Why did Strange let you?"

"I… I-I can't tell you that…"

Alice sat still in her seat as Firefly stalked over to the crying man who quickly scurried to his feet and dodged the hand about to grab his collar. The atmosphere in the room was extremely uncomfortable and stuff and painful. Tiny, black spots began to enter her vision and… when did the room start to spin?

"_Damn it, Tetch!_ You tell me right now why Strange allowed you to sneak Alice in here!"

"B-But I cannot, I tell y-you! I j-just cannot or he will take her a-away from me!"

Firefly raised his right fist and activated his suit's ability by releasing a bright, yellow sheet of fire before knocking the chair aside and running straight towards the hysterical man as he tried to put out the fire that trapped him in place.

This…

This really was too much.

Alice bolted from her seat and ran towards the door leading to the exit.

She just needed to escape.

She _needed_ to.

Yanking the door back with force, Alice failed to take the time to realize that there was a man standing on the other side; she barreled right into him, but thankfully enough he was able to sustain his balance and keep them from tumbling to the ground. However, before she even had time to say a quick apologue and push past him, a misty cloud encased her face, assaulting her nose and sent her into a coughing fit.

"_ALICE!_" Both males behind her screamed, but she was too busy being petrified as she stared up at the monstrous face before her own.

Her mouth opened to summon a scream.

But it was too much for her.

It was too much for her mind to handle.

She fainted.

It took Garfield a second to get over his shock of seeing who was standing there. It just couldn't be. The rumor travelled all over the asylum once the law was able to regain their order over them. And there'd been no sign or sighting to prove the rumor wrong. So the man before him couldn't possibly be—

"_CRANE, HOW COULD YOU? YOU JUST DESTROYED ALICE'S MIND WITH THAT TERRIBLE TOXIN OF YOURS! I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS, I DID. HOW COULD YOU DO SOMETHING THIS TERRIBLE? OH, ALICE MY DEAR, I SHALL AVENGE YOU—_"

_Whack_.

"Hatter, do us a favor and _SHUT THE HELL UP._ And Scarecrow, you better have an antidote on you otherwise you're about to find yourself becoming a nice and toasty bonfire that'll warm the entire city of Gotham."

* * *

Author's Notes:

YES. IT'S CRANE. CRANE IS IN THE STORY. 8D

I'm seriously hyped about having Crane in the picture now. Now all who's left is Nygma. :D

Oh. And a few other of Gotham City's "finest". Yes, yes. I haven't forgotten about them, don't you worry. But seriously, Crane and Nygma and Lynns are my absolute favorite _Batman_ baddies. But yes, the other famous villains of Gotham City will appear; although, I really wish I didn't have to add Zsasz to the story… Unfortunately, though, I may have to…

But… you know what? I might have Riddler show up sooner than planned because I'm just dying to post the chapter of when he and Alice meet. And to be honest, it's my favorite chapter thus far; although I will have to go back and change some things if I do have him appear sooner. So… what do you guys think? Would you rather have the Riddler appear sooner rather than later?

Now, I would like to thank each and every one of you for the reviews you sent me:

KoK: Haha, yep, this is set before the events of _Batman Arkham City_ since that's how I originally planned it due my plot bunnies unable to wait for the game to come out, haha. And yes, that means Nora hasn't been stolen by stupid Joker yet. (And oh heavens, I located her except I couldn't figure out how to get into the freakin' building. I assumed that I needed to put explosive gel on the door, but _nooo_, that's not how you're supposed to get in. *headdesk*) As for who Jervis found, I'm afraid (but thankfully to say) that it wasn't a certain person whose name begins with an "L" and ends with an "a" (although you have just given my plot bunnies an idea to think about). Thank you so very much for the review! :)

WoW: Well, I'm glad to hear it was worth the wait. ;) And as proven here, Firefly, indeed, can handle Jervis; although I'm sure Jervis isn't too happy about that. Now the only thing left is to see if he can handle the Scarecrow (as well as any and every _Batman_ baddie). Thanks again for the review!

Ivory Tears: Thanks so much for the review! Hopefully there won't be [too many] spoilers in here for _Arkham City_ since this takes place before the events. :) And yes, Mr. Freeze does come off as being [the most] noble. Except for _the Batman_ version of Mr. Freeze; he didn't seem all that noble. But I guess that's because they wanted to try something different… Anyway. When it comes to the Riddler, I may end up having him show up sooner than expected. :D

Again, thank you all for the reviews!


	8. Desperate Times

Coming Undone  
_Desperate Times_

* * *

"Just say the word, my sweet, and I shall drag that horrid Jabberwocky to the Red Queen myself and plea with her to allow his head in being removed!"

From where he stood, Dr. Jonathan Crane narrowed his calculating, cold blue eyes at the madman, who in turn gave a quiet yelp and went to bury his face in the brunette's chest as if that would help hide him from the doctor; however, a firm yank from the back of his jacket's collar stopped him before he could carry through with his plan and sent him sprawling to the floor. And from where she sat on the bed, back against the headboard, Alice couldn't help but be grateful to Firefly for removing Mr. Tetch from her comfort zone.

It was hard for her to come to grips with reality after being lost in the dark, hellish part of her mind for so long—a total of almost two days as it turned out to be. And oh, how she had hoped that it was all a dream when she woke up from that hellish nightmare. Instead though, she found herself back in this dilapidated city where patients of an asylum who ruled it. But… she at least was thankful that Garfield was still here—that he hadn't abandoned her after she inhaled that strange gas that caused her to hallucinate all kinds of horror.

Some of which would resemble what those thought of demons to like while other times it was—

_Don't—!_

_Don't… Don't think about that._

_Don't think about _it.

"Alice, my dear, my sweet, are you feeling all right?"

"Alice?"

Her body gave a jerk as a hand made contact briefly with her shoulder and she turned her head in time to see Firefly withdraw his hand. "Whoa! Relax! Didn't mean to startle you…"

"You fiend! Look at what you've done! You have scared poor Alice out of her wits!" Jervis cried, hurrying to her other side and taking her hand in his as if the action would sooth her. If anything, it made it worse.

Garfield deadpanned. "_Me?_ If I remember right, it was your friend the Scarecrow who gassed her with that fear toxin of his." At this, he jerked his thumb in the direction where the professor stood with his arms folded and seeming to be uninterested with this whole affair.

"Oh there, there, my dear. Hush now, no need to fret. Your sweet Hatter is here for you." He ignored the pyromaniac as he gave her hand a squeeze and a few gentle pats. "Your safe now, my dear. No harm will ever befall on you again! Not as long as I'm around, dear Alice, sweet Alice."

Crane gave a small scoff, remembering how Jervis made the same promise to some redheaded Alice before growing frustrated with her and ending her life. It was only a matter of time before the brunette met the same fate as the other Alice's.

Then again, perhaps she wouldn't.

She did seem to have Lynns wrapped around her finger after all.

"Tetch, you do realize that you're being a complete creeper, right?" deadpanned Firefly as he aimed his fist directly at Tetch's face in a threatening manner.

The Mad Hatter gave a "humph" sound, but nevertheless released Alice's hand from his hold and (reluctantly) put some distance between her and him. "I may owe you my thanks for keeping her safe from harm, Jabberwocky—"

"I've told you over and over again to stop calling me that."

"—and in aiding me in get the March Hare to cooperate in making her the cure—"

Crane did his best to ignore the character assigned to him, but a vein in his forehead still throbbed in annoyance.

"—but alas, your services are no longer needed. Not that they were wanted in the first place…" Hatter grumbled and failed to notice how Firefly was quickly losing patience with him. A sigh, "But I have no doubt that you wish for some form of payment for them and so I shall award you by allowing us to celebrate your very merry un-birthday today and only today."

"What kind of payment is that?"

"What is a "un-birthday"?"

The silence following her question was deafening. Jervis Tetch now stood there, staring at her with wide eyes and a slack jaw, not quite believing his ears. How could she…? But he had… So how…? Dread filled his stomach and he gave a sudden wail in agony which made Alice jump and Firefly scowl beneath his helmet.

"Look at what your blasted chemicals have done now, Crane! Alice has forgotten what un-birthdays are! Oh, this is indeed most not a Frabjous Day! Worry not, my dear! I shall help you remember everything! Your Hatter is here to help and protect you!"

Firefly deadpanned again. "Yeah, because you've been doing _such_ a great job since bringing her in here."

If Crane hadn't intervened when he did then a certain Lewis Carroll fan would have found out what it was like to be set on fire.

… And possibly burnt alive.

* * *

"Why not use your toxins on him? I see no consequences in the action."

The lanky man said nothing, knowing full well that it was pointless in pointing out the obvious–that the blond was acting like a spoiled child who was being denied from something that he wanted.

He had firmly steered him out of the room, leaving the pyro and the girl alone, in order to avoid causing a casualty. Should Firefly be provoked any further then he would have no problem in setting this place on fire and ultimately drawing attention from every single person within this city and those monitoring it.

And he couldn't have that happening, no.

He needed time to prepare.

But most importantly, he needed to keep his presence a secret from Tyger for as long as possible.

Because if word got out to them that he was alive and within Arkham City's walls…

Well.

It would make it harder for him to complete the needed preparations in order to plunge the citizens of Gotham into fear.

"He's tainted her mind by making her believe that I'm the villain! The nerve of that Jabberwocky! How dare he turn her against me! We must save her from him. We must! And then it will be a Frabjous Day and we can all celebrate with tea and—!" Jervis kept blathering on and on and _on_ and Crane just about rolled his eyes at his comrade's behavior. But again he had to remind himself that it was pointless to remind him that it was only a matter of time before he found something wrong with this Alice too. "It's only a matter of time before that beast takes her to the Red Queen. And oh, when that happens then…" A small whimper sounded from the back of his throat at the dreadful thought. "We must save her, March Hare!"

"Save her from what now?" it came out as a growl and Tetch spun on his heel only to come face to face with the one (of many) who he kept referring as "the Jabberwocky".

And in a blink of an eye, the Hatter was cowering behind his dear friend and ally while pointing a shaky finger at the arsonist. "Y-You, that's who! You poisoned her mind and turned my sweet Alice against me!"

If his helmet was off then they would have been able to see the "are you kidding me?" expression on Lynns' face at the accusation. Yet before he could start arguing—or worse—Crane once again interfered by calmly asking what he wanted.

Despite Jervis being in denial about it, he could plainly see that Firefly did hold some care towards the brunette in the other room. The arsonist had made it quite clear the minute she passed out after he exposed her to his fear toxin.

"I need you to look after her while I'm gone."

"Pfft!" Jervis stepped out from behind Crane and waved a hand in the arm. "Of course I'll look after her—"

"Not you." Firefly spat, obviously still annoyed with him. He knew what he was about to say next was insane, but what other choice did he have? Desperate times called for desperate measures and unfortunately that's exactly what he felt like this was. "… Crane."

… Oh wow, he really couldn't believe he just said that, especially not after the fact that it was Crane who sent Alice's mind to a not-quite-short trip to fear.

But it was too late to take it back now. Two-Face was probably pissed for him not showing up yesterday to report in. And begrudgingly, he had to admit to himself that he would rather have him look after her than Tetch. Crane liked to toy with his subjects, see what made them scream. If anything, he might be able to persuade Tetch from killing her if she did anything wrong.

Hopefully.

"_What?_"

"…" Oh yes, Jonathan Crane felt the beginnings of a splitting, aching headache coming on now.

The man gave a casual shrug. "Yeah, I know, shocker. But he is more capable of taking care of her than you are." And Rags, he thought but knew there was no point in bringing the triple-jointed contortionist thief into this. He really did not feel like going in to the details on why he no longer trusted him with the task of keeping an eye on her.

"Why not ask Freeze to babysit her?" asked Crane casually, but in truth he had been curious as to why the man seemed interested in her wellbeing. And he only knew that because he had to sneak to the old GPD building that the scientist now resided in due to the fact that he had a working laboratory setup for use and he needed access to it in order to make a batch of the cure to that specific toxin the female had inhaled.

"Why in the name of the White Queen would you ask him?!" Jervis exclaimed as he franticly looked from one to the other. But like many times, the man was ignored.

"Because I need to report back to Two-Face ASAP and the idea of flying across town just to ask isn't at all appealing to me. And plus it's a waste of fuel to do that."

"You could take her with you, or drop her off at your place."

"Leave her with me!"

A snort, "Oh yeah, sure, because surely nothing will go wrong if I take her with me and meet up with Two-Face. Yeah, Crane, that sounds like a real great plan there!"

"I _did_ say that you could do that _or_ that you could drop her off at your place."

"And I said leave her with me! She is mine! She's my Alice!"

Firefly was silent for a few minutes. True, he could simply drop her off at his place and go off to meet Two-Face, but… she hadn't wanted to be left alone even then. And who knew what the repercussions would be like now after being exposed to Scarecrow's toxins. Sure, she seemed to be taking it in stride and seemingly well, but there was a chance that it did more damage to her mind than she was letting on.

There was no telling what would happen, should she have a brief hallucination and left on her own. She could hurt herself or worse—she could wind up dead.

"Look, Crane. If you do this then that means I owe you a favor."

"…"

The Hatter couldn't believe this. He couldn't. They knew—both of them knew—that this was his duty, his task. Alice was his responsibility. It was his job to keep her safe from the Red Queen's wrath and from the numerous jabberwockies and bandersnatches that wished to harm her. His job. Not his friend's. _His_. And Crane knew that. He knew and that was what mattered. Because as his friend it meant he would refuse the task and tell this jabberwocky that stood before them that he was more than capable of taking care of her—

"… Very well."

—wait.

"WHAT?"

"But do remember to keep your word. I have no qualms with exposing you and her to my toxins, should you decide to break it." Crane blatantly stated.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry; I won't forget."

As they watched Firefly retreat, no doubt with the intent of informing the girl about what was about to transpire, that's when Jervis Tetch broke out in a wail and began to have another fit.

"MARCH HARE, YOU TRAITOR. HOW COULD YOU BETRAY ME LIKE THIS?"

"Jervis."

"Why, you're not the March Hare at all, are you? For the March Hare would never betray me like this! He would not, I tell you!"

Jervis Tetch really should consider himself lucky. If not for their years of friendship, Crane would have injected him with fear toxin by now to hear him scream in fear rather than anger and "betrayal".

"Plant one of your chips on me and I swear to you that I will not hesitate to gas you into oblivion once I am free of your mind control."

Yes indeed, Jervis Tetch really should consider himself lucky because no one else would have been given a fair and promising warning in advance.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Overdue chapter is very, very long overdue. (And (possibly?) to make it worse, it's more of a filler chapter than anything else. -_-;)

I AM SO SORRY. D8

But… hey! It's something at least, right? … Right? …

With any luck, the next update shouldn't take as long as this one. Hopefully. :) But it might, depending on what I feel needs to be added/taken out and whatnot. And if all goes according to the newest plan then I'm pretty sure you all will like what'll happen in the next chapter, or the one after it. ;D Again, it all depends.

MissBliss8527: Thank you so much for the review! :]

KoK: Why, yes, Firefly is made of win, isn't he? ;) And it's good that Jonathan made an antidote before his fear toxin did a little _too_ much damage on Alice's mind. Many thanks for the review! =D

WoW: Ah ha ha, oh dear. While I can understand getting upset with Scarecrow for gassing poor Alice with his fear toxins, I wouldn't wish any harm to come to him. (But mayhap that's because he's one of my favorite _Batman_ baddies. XD) But look! Alice is OK now and her mind is safe because she was given an antidote sooo… maybe you can forgive Crane now? Anyway, thanks for the review!

Guest: Thanks for the review. It always makes me happy to hear that I'm still able to keep the characters in character. :3

TChompi21: Thank you very much for the review! :)


	9. High Tensions

Coming Undone  
_High Tensions_

* * *

It took a great deal of convincing on his part to calm Alice down after telling her that he had to leave and therefore was leaving her in the care of Dr. Crane (and undoubtedly the Hatter) while he was gone for an hour or two.

Garfield was even a bit taken aback when she openly volunteered to be babysat by Ragdoll. (He knew that the thief definitely would not like that plan of action and would be the opposite of pleased.) But he made the promise that she'd be safe and that she needn't fear of having her mind sent down that frightening road.

Besides, Tetch would never allow it.

He had been in a great state of panic after all—more so when she would wake up, screaming, before blackening out again—during that dreadful time. So he wouldn't let a repeat of it happening again, though; to be honest, he was far more concerned with the thought of Tetch being the one to cause harm to her which is why ultimately he asked the Scarecrow to look after her.

He'd been promised a favor and everyone loves having a favor owed to them.

It was one of the reasons why he was helping claim territory for Two-Face.

Yeah, maybe he would have been better off helping Penguin but… after what happened last time, Firefly really didn't want another repeat of Team Penguin. In truth, now that he thought back on it, he really couldn't believe that he had agreed in joining it, especially since no good would come out of it. All Penguin seemed to have his eyes on were bird-related artifacts that didn't interest him in the slightest.

… Yeah, what on Earth had he been thinking when signing on Team Penguin?

He landed in front of the Solomon Wayne Courthouse, now serving as Two-Face's main headquarters, with an inaudible sigh. A few of Two-Face's goons that were ordered to stay outside in order to keep guard gave him a quick glance but nothing more. They knew not to mess with him, unless their boss told them to, of course. But loyalty only went so far among them and it was every man for himself, especially now that they were all trapped within Arkham City's walls.

If push came to shove and if there was a sign that one was actually stronger than the rest and held more promising power, it wouldn't take much for these hired thugs and lowlifes to change sides.

And yet…

It also depended on how much they were willing to deal with the craziness of the leader. Harvey "Two-Face" Dent was no Joker, but that didn't mean the man had his own personal issues to deal with.

The man did leave everything and anything up to that stupid coin of his and chance.

_Pfft, whatever_.

"'Bout time ya showed up. The boss ain't too happy with ya, know what I mean?" the goon standing guard nearest the entrance asked him as he kept his beady eyes on the arsonist. "He's real mad at ya for not showin' up yesterday. Penguin's expanding his territory and makin' it real clear that he ain't messing 'round. Might wanna ask the lady herself to give ya some more of her luck."

"Yeah, yeah. That doesn't sound like anything new. Seriously, he should just chill."

The masked goon snorted, "Whatever, dude. It'll be your funeral if your luck decides to run out."

As he entered the building and started to head towards the courtroom, Garfield Lynns couldn't help but secretly hope that luck was still on his side.

* * *

"Why is a raven like a writing desk?"

"Jervis, enough." Crane was at his wit's end with his friend, who repeatedly kept asking the same maddening question over and over and over again. From the corner of his eye, he could see the brunette nervously pick at her napkin from time to time and firmly kept her gaze trained on her lap. Not that you could possibly blame her, mind you. She was having to sit at a table with one of them being responsible for sneaking her in here and with the other one who had gassed her with fear toxin which made her lose her sanity for almost forty-eight hours total.

He would have to be a fool to say that he wasn't curious about her, and Jonathan Crane was no fool.

He'd seen many fall victim to his toxins that never came back the same, especially when there'd been prolonged exposure. But when he'd given her the antidote, it took her time to recover, but her mannerism… from what he pieced together, it was the same.

Yes, she was jumpy now and again, but otherwise from how Firefly interacted with her it appeared that she was the same still.

How was that even possible?

"I heard Tyger's been installing cameras throughout the city now. Very peculiar, seeing as how they said they could care less how we spent our time here." Jervis obviously wanted some form of communication to happen, but really Crane was too busy being lost in his thoughts to pay him any mind. "… Do you think it's because—no, no. Of course not." He muttered under his breath and went silent for three minutes until another thought occurred to him. "I heard that those two bandersnatches are about to wage war against one another. Don't they realize that it will only anger the Red Queen? Oh, she truly will be displeased once the news reaches her ears. It'll be off with their heads, it will."

Could… _Did_ this self-claimed Hatter know Vivaldi? Could he—by some miracle or luck or chance or whatever else you wanted to call it—have gone to the Country of Hearts? Her eyebrows furrowed as all these questions and then some ran through her head. He did seem to know quite a lot when it came to Vivaldi's temper and her catchphrase.

But then again, she did not want to ask him. He had proven to care little for her comfort zone and she feared that if she started a conversation with him then he would most likely take it in the wrong way and believe that she was returning his… affection, if one could call it even that.

Oh, how she wished Garfield was here.

Maybe then she wouldn't feel so helpless and vulnerable if he were.

"More tea, Alice?" asked Jervis, wanting to engage in a conversation with his dear, beloved Alice for it seemed that nothing of what he was saying was piquing her interest.

"No thank you." She hadn't even touched her teacup in fear that he may have tempered with it. Not even his friend Dr. Crane had touched his cup of tea and so she thought it best to wait until it was deemed safe, or until Garfield returned… which hopefully would be soon. Because she felt like she was suffocating as each minute ticked by and she wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to keep up this façade of calmness.

Disappointment was evident in his eyes, but he allowed himself to hold back from pampering her. Clearly she was still not over the foolish mistake of Crane's and he would have insisted that she return to bed, if not for her own persistence that she was more than fine. And he didn't have the heart to be angry with her, not now. Not when she was finally back here with him once again. So he put on a grin and cheerfully asked, "Crane? Tea?"

The professor didn't appear to hear him, though; his eyes now lingering on the brunette's form—and it didn't take Jervis long before he began to glare at his friend in pure frustration and irritation. Just why exactly was his "friend's" eyes on _his_ Alice? "Tea, March Hare?"

"…"

"…"

… Was he intentionally trying to rile him up and make him look bad in front of his love?

"You know, not everyone within this city will show hospitality to you, Alice." Crane finally spoke, keeping his tone indifferent, as calm eyes studied her actions carefully; she blinked, looking at him and seeming to be caught off guard with him speaking to her. Even Jervis seemed startled by his words, though. A tensing silence fell over them and it was like time had frozen. It was odd that he was warning her, considering… and yet he pressed on, "I_ especially_ advise you to stay away from these three people: Two-Face, Zsasz, and more importantly the Joker. There is no telling what _that_ lunatic will do if your paths should come across."

There it was again.

That name.

_Joker_.

But… it couldn't possibly be the Joker that she knew.

… Could it be?

If anything, now would be the time to ask… even if it was asking the man who sent her mind tumbling into despair.

She just had to know.

She _had to_.

But Jervis beat her to it.

"Of course her path will never cross with the clown's!" Hot and angry and full of venom, "I will not allow that clown to get anywhere near my sweet and precious Alice. He will not touch her." This came out more as a growl than anything. "He will _not_. I will not allow it to happen. I will keep her safe. Yes, yes. Alice must remain safe. She will remain safe." Beneath the table, his hand strayed to his jacket's pocket and his hat cast a shadow over his eyes as he glowered down at the table. "I will keep her safe."

"Jervis." Crane said in a warning tone, aware of what was running through his friend's mind.

Alice felt her pulse pick up speed as her heart hammered itself against her breast.

It would seem that she knew what was running through the Mad Hatter's mind, too.

However, all was lost to Jervis Tetch except for the one thought—the one action that he knew he had to commit in order to keep his beloved safe and sound and _with him_ _forever_ and ever and ever and nothing was going to change that. Nothing was going to get in his way.

Absolutely, positively _nothing_.

From within his pocket, he withdrew the key that would ensure his beloved's safety.

And better yet the complete guarantee that she would stay with him—now and forever and _always_.

It brought a twisted smile to his lips, expression matching that of a darker version of the Cheshire cat, and it was also that thought that made him finalize his decision—for it was for the greater good and it would result in them having their happy ending.

He lunged.

* * *

This was not the first time he found himself bored to death in a meeting and wishing for its swift end and it certainly would not be the last.

As the hour neared and Two-Face continued to blather on about "how dare Penguin take that section!" and "I need more men!" and "what do I need to do to gain some respect around here?!" was starting to get old real fast—nothing out of the usual, to be perfectly honest with you.

Because this wasn't the first time Two-Face ranted about needing to find a way in order to gain some respect.

Maybe he should stop ranting and complaining about it and that would be a foot in the right direction of that problem being fixed? Eh. Firefly wasn't going to risk saying that.

After all, lady luck may not be on his side for a second time today and he did have a promise to keep to that he couldn't risk breaking—and because more questions needed to be answered.

Oh yeah, and a debt to repay. Or favor. Whatever you wanted to call it.

But that was the least of his worries for now. (And who knows? Crane may hold onto that favor for a few months.)

He was curious as to why Hugo Strange let Tetch keep Alice and bring her in here where criminals freely roamed the streets. It gave his gut a bad feeling that whatever Strange's reasons were that they couldn't be good. He didn't need to be a genius to know that. But what were his reasons behind it? What did Strange want?

What could he possibly gain from this?

The more he thought about it the more he wanted to get out of here so he could get back to questioning Tetch.

"This isn't enough anymore! I need something new—something real big and memorable—in order to get respect here!" Harvey "Two-Face" Dent snarled as he continued to pace the room. Few of his men in the room began to shift uneasily on their feet as their boss's favorite coin came out from the constraints of his pocket. "Something that'll impress everyone and anyone! And it's gotta be enough to make them all stop doubting and questioning my abilities.

"Well?" he turned on his men, expecting one of them to have come up with a sensible plan.

This drew Firefly from his thoughts and beneath his helmet he made a face. Really? This is what he had to put up with? Why couldn't this "meeting" just be adjourned already for crying out loud so he could finally go on his way in order to question Hatter some more?

"I'm surrounded by idiots!"

It was, yet at the same time wasn't, hard for him to bite back his retort—that he was an idiot too for not coming up with anything either. But maybe in some ways, if his mind wasn't already preoccupied, he might've been able to offer a good suggestion of what he could do to gain the respect that he wanted without the risk of getting a bullet lodged inside his brain.

Firefly continued to watch the scene unfold before him and briefly thought about going to see Calendar Man to ask him if today was a Monday or not.

Two-Face always did seem to act a whole lot crankier and crazier when it was Mondays.

* * *

Lungs burned, desperate for air.

Feet throbbed, begging to stop for rest.

Mind fluttering about like a butterfly, in hopes that _something_ that the eyes took in would ring a familiar bell.

_Don't stop._

_Don't stop._

_Don'tstopdon'tstopdon'tstopdon'tstop—_

Nothing looked familiar and yet everything looked the same.

—_don'tstopdon'tstopdon'tstopdon'tstopdon'tstop—_

Why did everything have to look so similar?

—_don'tstopdon'tstopdon'tstopdon'tstopdon'tstopdon't stopdon'tstop—_

WHY?

—_don'tstopdon'tstopdon'tstopdon'tstopdon'tstopdon't stopdon'tstopdon'tstopdon'tstopdon'tstopDON'TSTOP— _

But legs no longer wished to listen to the mind.

Knees buckled beneath and so—

—she fell, making a futile attempt to quiet her gasps for air that her lungs greedily tried to take in.

Behind her, she could hear the muddled yells and cries and shouts of those that were after her.

Was this it for her?

W-Was this the end?

Fingernails pierced the fabric of her clothes and knuckles turned white from the pressure as tears flooded her eyes.

Her lungs still burned and her legs ached from all the running she had done.

The voices.

The yells.

The footsteps.

They were getting closer now.

It felt like her heart was about to burst from her chest and she shakily rose to her feet. No matter what happened, she knew that she had to keep running in order to get away from them. Even if all it did was help her buy herself some more time.

That was better than nothing, wasn't it?

Or was prolonging the inevitable worse?

She didn't know.

Shuffling on to the sidewalk and out of the empty streets, she tried in vain to find _some_ building that would look familiar to her, or for something that just seemed to be relatively safe and sound for her to hide in for the next couple of hours—maybe longer than that even.

_Crash!_

Quickly spinning on her heel, muscles bunching up in anticipation for the worst, she braced herself for the worst; however, she placed a hand over her chest and gave a soft sigh out of relief from what she saw. There, opposite of the street from where she was, stood a cat that must have knocked the trashcan over when leaping either on it or off of it. Its tail gave a few swishes as its eerie looking eyes landed on her form. Head titled to the side, it gave a low meow. She was able to make out—no thanks to the terrible lighting—the strips decorating the cat's fur resembling a tiger's coat.

But Alice's relief (along with her observation of the cat) was short lived as a gloved hand clamped itself over her mouth and pulled her into the darkness of the building.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Poor Alice. She managed to escape only to wind up getting caught (again)… but by _who _exactly? Hmm…

Anyway, wow, that took a tad bit longer than I would have liked—BUT at least now we'll get to my all-time favorite chapter that I cooked up way, way back when! :D I was somewhat tempted to end this at "He lunged" except that wouldn't have been very nice of me, now would it? Besides, all of you have been so very patient with me and the updates for this that I thought a nice lengthy chapter was in order. (And hopefully this chapter was a little more entertaining than the last one.)

FYI: I'm combining Arkham Crane's and Cillian Murphy's Crane from the Nolanverse together because we never got to see what the Scarecrow's face looks like in the game. Not yet at least.

And as a final note here, the kitty-cat at the end there is indeed a hint of who Alice will meet sooner or later in the story. Originally when I was writing this bit in, the cat didn't get much of a description but thought better of it so I went back and added a _little bit_ more to it. So, can you guess who it is? (Here's a second hint to help you out: the answer is not Catwoman.)

Thank you, TChompi21, for the review! I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying the story. :)


	10. Perplexity at its Finest

Author's Notes:

Putting this at the top because I wanted to point out that, yes, I did take a couple of dialogue lines from _Batman Arkham Asylum_ since I wanted them to be said to Alice. That, and because it's one of my favorite parts in his interview tapes.

So with that, I'd just like to say, sorry for the long wait! Hopefully this chapter will make up for it, yes? :)

* * *

Coming Undone  
_Perplexity at its Finest_

* * *

The Riddler twirled his cane—once, twice, thrice, four times total—before he started across the room towards the petite brunette that had caused, more like caus_ing_, a mild uproar concerning Penguin's men. At his approach her knuckles curled into the soft fabric of her dress. He halted in his tracks.

"Riddle me this: when you have me, you feel like sharing me. But, if you do share me, you no longer have me. What am I?" He drawled as he leaned on his cane while watching with keen eyes as her eyebrows furrowed and her lips curved into a frown. It puzzled him, this girl.

Oh sure, he knew just by how she was dolled up that she was Tetch's, and from "off the records" entries he read after hacking into Strange's computer were proof enough. True, it wasn't anything he thought to be worthwhile so he paid little to no attention to it when first coming across them, but when he'd hacked the cameras that'd been installed long before this section of the city was made into Arkham City, a very intriguing scene happened to play out on one of his many monitors which in turn caught his eye and—

Well, it came as no surprise when he suddenly took an interest in her, albeit it be a slight one.

In the meantime, Alice was, to say the least, confused. This man grabbed her and pulled her into this building—only to ask her a _riddle?_ This was very… bizarre. But it did beat having Mr. Tetch try and get her under his control, _in addition to _having those men chase after her.

"'When you have me, you feel like sharing me. But, if you do share me, you no longer have me'…" She repeated, uncertainly, to which the Riddler lazily waved a hand in the air with a click of his tongue as if in disappointment… or scolding.

"You do know _you're_ the one who is to give the answer to the riddle, correct?"

Alice's frown deepened at his words and the second clicking of his tongue. Of course she knew that! What did he think her to be, an unintelligent person? The nerve! Feeling a muscle in her jaw twitch, it was then that Alice realized she had closed her eyes to contain herself from (trying to) throttle him (which would end miserably). The action hadn't gone unnoticed by the Riddler, and his lips lifted into a sly grin.

Upon seeing the bemused expression on his face, Alice tried to refocus on the riddle he had asked her. '_When you have me, you feel like sharing me. But, if you do share me, you no longer have me. What am I?_' _Think, Alice, think._ The young girl tapped her lip in thought, trying to figure out what the possibilities were. In some ways, she was thankful he didn't ask her, "_Why is a raven like a writing desk"_, something that the Hatter impersonator continually asked over the course of teatime before discreetly switching the conversation to a new one until Crane had had the final straw with him.

". . . Is it your heart?" She muttered as heat rose to her cheeks and eyes cast downward to examine the dusty wooden floorboards before slowly lifting her gaze back to his. And from how his lips were set in a grim frown, the strange glint in his eyes dimming a notch, it was obvious to say that her answer was not correct. The Riddler heaved out a small sigh. Disappointment ran through his veins. So far she didn't seem that special enough for Freeze not to freeze her, and for a certain doctor to keep tabs on her. If she were, she would have answered his riddle correctly.

But at the same time he couldn't deny that he was intrigued all the more, possibly further than he already was.

"Wrong."

Alice asked, "So, what is the answer?"

His nose slightly wrinkled as he mulled over the thought of telling her the answer or not.

". . . It's a secret."

"Excuse me?" She gawked as bewilderment overtook her.

He had given her a riddle only to tell her that the answer was a _secret?_ He had the gall to ask her a question and wouldn't even tell her the answer because it was a _secret?_ More warmth seeped into her cheeks from embarrassment, both because of giving such a silly answer and finding out he wouldn't tell her. Mostly tell her. Without even thinking Alice immediately straightened, lifting a finger to poke him in the chest only to still as he arched an eyebrow, the look on his face unreadable. More blood rushed to her cheeks, "… what?"

"You do know it's a _secret_." Riddler again drawled in a bored tone. He needed to act indifferent, he needed to remain calm. After all, if Freeze hadn't frozen her and that pesky fly came to her rescue (although really, he had come up with a logical reason as to why Lynns would do such a thing) then there was something special about her, something unique and puzzling and (possibly) _needed to be solved_. "You know? The riddle I had asked you? The answer is a secret."

Oh.

_Oh_.

If it were possible, Alice was certain she would have died from embarrassment right there and then. Silence washed over them as the Riddler remained standing where he was while Alice had her head slightly bowed, face hidden by the curtain of her wavy bangs. He thought to himself that this was intriguing indeed. What did his fellow inmate of Arkham see in her? Not to mention the "good doctor" in allowing her in here in the first place.

And the only explanation he could think of was that there was something unique about her. His hand balled into a fist, clutching to the cane tightly and the purple gloves seemed to give a soft whine from the strain. "Let's have another riddle, shall we?" He idly mused more to himself and before Alice could protest he started, "Riddle me this! I am a box that holds keys without locks, yet my locks can unlock your deepest senses. What am I?"

". . . The brain…?"

"Incorrect. The answer is a piano." Riddler shook his head and truly did wonder _what_ was so special about her. It was apparent she wasn't clever—she had yet to answer any of his riddles correctly, after all—so how come this was becoming so infuriating for him? He tapped his chin in thought. She must have something that made the (literally) coldest man in Gotham not want to harm her. (Because unless his wife was being held hostage by the ruler of Arkham City himself or someone working for him – which she wasn't (he did his research) – then Freeze had no excuse not to freeze this girl standing before him. More importantly, Strange wouldn't have kept her "off the record"; he wouldn't have attempted in trying to keep her hidden.)

Mentally, Alice was praying that he wasn't going to be asking her any more riddles. She remembered Crane's words, a warning, that hadn't be uttered only minutes ago yet it felt longer than that. And there was no telling what this man would do if she continually answered his riddles incorrectly.

'_Not everyone within this city will show hospitality to you, Alice. I _especially _advise you to stay away from these three people: Two-Face, Zsasz, and more importantly the Joker. There is no telling what _that _lunatic will do if your paths should come across.'_

That's when her blood ran cold. Was this man… could he possibly be the Joker? She, discreetly as she could, studied him. If only he had given her physical descriptions of what those people looked like before that madman interrupted him then she wouldn't—or would—have the need to worry.

Releasing a shaky breath, Alice asked, "Who are you?"

Instantly his focus snapped into place from hearing her timid voice speak and an eyebrow arched. She didn't know who he was? Hadn't she been in Gotham long enough to know about him, or had she just recently moved here? If so, hadn't one of those buffoons mentioned him to her? Told her about him, their great intellectual superior? Apparently not, he thought with agitation. Perhaps it was likely due to the fact that they were not even remotely close to his IQ level. Yes, that had to be it. A satisfying smirk crept onto his face.

"Me? Why I am the great Edward Nygma, the Riddler!"

He watched for some type of recollection to come across her features as his smirk grew a little more. There had to be a few occasions that his name—alias or surname—had been spoken when warning her about the residents of this place (surely they had taken the time to do so?) and—

—"Oh," was all she said as if suspecting something much more… worse, "Oh."

'Oh'?

_. . ._ '_Oh_'?

That was all she was able to respond with, was a measly '_Oh_'?

Riddler's smirk fell quickly from his face as a frown quickly replaced it. And the way she had breathed it out, like a sigh of relief as if she'd just woken from a horrifying nightmare to find she was safely tucked away within the sheets of her bed—!

Irritation, anger, and rage gnawed at him from the core and he scowled.

Who had she been anticipating him to be—Victor Zsasz, of all people, a sociopath that needed to kill in return to gain a new mark? He gave a soundless snort of distaste with a quick roll of his eyes. Incredibly insulting, he thought, that she dared compare him to that lowlife with a sorry excuse of an IQ.

An awkward silence filtered between them and Alice felt a tinge of fear tickle its way root itself inside her heart. She wondered just why exactly he had suddenly become so displeased, the smirk turning to a scowl as quick as lightning. She took in a quivering breath and held it in an effort to steel her nerves. _Get a grip of yourself, Alice!_ Her conscious scolded.

She tried but saying and doing are two whole different things.

Not too add that she was feeling partially guilty.

_. . . Alice, there is no reason for you to be feeling guilty!_

She stammered, "It's a pleasure to meet you; I'm Alice Liddell—"

"Yes, yes." He waved her off with a roll of his eyes. "I know who you are. No need to tell me about something that I already know. Now, what do you say to hearing another riddle?"

Alice—mentally—sweat dropped.

"Um… OK?"

He grinned, "Riddle me this: what has four legs, then two, and finally… three legs?"

Alice's features soften. "Oh, well that's easy. The answer is a human being."

A soft chuckle greeted her ears and her head titled to the side, hair cascading down, like a waterfall, over her shoulder from the motion and eyes fixed upon the strange man. Finally, his dark eyes met hers and a shiver ran up her spine; his eyes were cold, devoid of that twinkle that had been in his eyes the moment hers met his. And that's when her brain processed that his chuckle had not been one of amusement, but of dark humor. As if she had gotten that riddle…

"Nice try. But the answer is… _a baby_." The Riddler rested his chin in the palm of his hand and watched Alice with his intense, dark eyes. It was amusing how she seemed at a complete lost, unsure what was meant by that. His lips curled up into a smile, revealing those perfect pearly white teeth and she had to take a step back from the intensity of his gaze. "True, a baby crawls on all fours. But cut off its limbs and it can only wiggle on the remaining two. Give it a crunch; it can hobble around on three. You see?"

Bile rose from the back of her throat and tears pricked at her eyes. "That's… _that's horrible!_ How can you even think of something as terrible as that?" She asked, completely and utterly appalled. Her feet automatically stumbled backward, already knowing to put as much distance between them. This seemed to please him even more as his grin grew a little wider and he began to twirl his cane again—once, twice—as his eyes held hers. Her reaction was just like that of Dr. Penelope Young in regards to words. But her reaction overall, her moist eyes and pale cheeks…

Was that it? She had the same reactions as the young—no pun intended—doctor but with emotions? No, that couldn't be. None of the inmates—including him—were very pleased when having an interview done with the stuck-up doctor. And once hearing of her passing, well… to put in simple words: she wasn't at all missed.

"Easily, my dear Alice," He began and watched as a look of disgust crossed her features from having calling her 'dear'. But then it flashed into a look of worry. And it made his grin grow twofold and he made sure his voice spoke in that same tone it had when he told the doctor his answer on why—how—he could think of something like that, "_it's not my baby_."

". . . !" Her eyes brimmed with a new onslaught of tears and he raised a questioning eyebrow at her. This time it was his turn to tilt his head to the side and her that seemed to be the enigma—not that she wasn't before, just more so now—and he suddenly felt as if he discovered what made her such, his fingers reaching out, arm stretching, as if the answer was within his grasp… close… so very close—

"Alice? Alice? _Alice!_"

—and it slipped between his fingers, already back to stage one of where he already had been.

And it agitated him—infuriated him, really—and he despised it.

In front of him, the girl jerked as if having been woken from a sudden dream and she hesitantly squeaked out the caller's name, face darting towards the door that rested behind him, and some relief reflecting from her eyes.

Or was she? Her posture was still stiff after all.

Dismissing the knowledge that he had lost the chance of discovering what made her to be so different; he put on a carefree grin. There was always a next time and he'd just have to make sure he was there in the right spot at the right time. It had been pure luck that he had happened upon her, running away from Penguin's idiot lackeys (and the Mad Hatter), earlier today. All he had to do now was make certain their next meeting was set in stone.

Riddler halfway turned his body towards the door as it burst opened, revealing a scowling Ragdoll. His glare was directly aimed at him and it made him grin all the more. "Why, if it isn't the contortionist? How are you today?"

"Save it for someone who cares, Riddler."

"My, my, someone is certainly testy today."

Ragdoll's eyes narrowed in response. Yes, he was far from being in his usual cheery mood, only because Lynns came to him _again_ and _ordered him_ to help the arsonist find the girl. It was just by some sheer and unfortunate luck on his part that he found her. With the Riddler.

Oh _joy_.

How did he manage to get roped into this again?

Oh. That's right. It's because Lynns threatened him. That's how he (once again) got stuck with an assignment that he never wanted to begin with.

"M-Mr. Merkel?" it didn't take a genius to figure out that she was surprised by his appearance and being her rescuer (something he was far from being proud of). But that was understandable. From what he was told, Lynns had left her in the care of Tetch and Crane and the end result had been Tetch frightening her off (again). But still. He hoped this didn't mean he was going to get stuck babysitting her again. Otherwise, if he did get stuck with her again, he'd then go find Moth and let her be his problem to deal with instead. Or Bane's. Or…

Or maybe he'd let Lynns' (currently ex) boss deal with her. Now that right there sounded like a good idea to him. The exchange between him and Lynns would undoubtedly make for a good story to hear about. Hmm… Yes… Chances were that that would be the 'oh so lucky chap' who would get the 'joy' of having to babysit Lynns' girlfriend…

"Come along, Alice. Unless you rather want to wait here for Firefly to find you." Although he knew if he walked away without her in tow that Lynns would give him Hell for doing so. When she made no move towards him, the thief tried his best not to scowl at her. "Well?"

Finally Alice started forward and choked back a scream as the Riddler caught her wrist. Ragdoll bristled at the action and opened his mouth to remind him to keep his hands to himself and free her (because he knew that if something happened to her then Lynns really would give him Hell for it) when he was stopped short.

Raising her hand to his mouth as if pressing a delicate kiss to her knuckles, the Riddler flashed his pearly whites at her in a sincere smile. "It was a pleasure making your acquaintance, sweet Alice. I do so hope we are able to meet again in the near future. Do feel free to visit me." He gave her a bow, never releasing his hold on her in wait for her response.

Alice felt her face become a twinge of red and her heart start to beat rapidly. In some ways, he reminded her of a certain bipolar Knight of Hearts. And it made her heart swell from the memory of him: Ace, the Knight of Hearts, who always got lost but kept a cheerful smile on his face even if it was never real. She swallowed the lump starting to form in her throat as an image of Ace flashed before her where the Riddler stood.

"It was a pleasure meeting you too." She would have added his name, but she wasn't sure if he wanted to be addressed as 'Mr. Riddler', 'Mr. Nygma', or even by his first name. She gave a nervous smile and felt his hold leave her. "And thank you! For… saving me from those men earlier."

"Why, it was my pleasure. I wouldn't be able to call myself a gentleman if I simply walked off to leave you to those wolves." He answered and watched as she gave another small smile before hurrying over to Merkel, who seemed to be losing his patience with each passing second. "And feel free to drop by my hideout for a visit whenever you like. I'll be looking forward to it."

Again her smile flashed itself at him and then she was gone, out the door, in the blink of an eye.

He watched, waited, for the triple-contortionist to follow after her. But when he made no move, the Riddler asked: "Problem, Merkel?"

"Problem? Whoever said there was a problem?" asked Ragdoll, putting on an air of false cheerfulness. If he wasn't careful then Nygma _could_ and _would_ turn this into some type of mind game. And right now Ragdoll wasn't in the mood for games.

Especially if they involved a certain airhead named Alice.

And judging by what he witnessed, it most likely did involve her.

Why couldn't Lynns just let the Mad Hatter deal with her and be rid of her? Oh wait. That's right. It's because Lynns wanted to play hero, or something along those lines…

But that didn't explain why Nygma seemed so interested in the girl.

It wasn't because she was intelligent, he knew that much. In fact, she had to be one of the stupidest people he'd ever had met. And last he heard—knew—Nygma was far more interested in beating the Bat than in the opposite sex. So unless she grew exceptionally smarter over the past two (almost three) days since they parted ways then Nygma had little to no reason in being _kind_ to her.

"You just seem too tightly wound up, is all." The Riddler lazily twirled a hand in the air to which Ragdoll's response was an eye roll.

"And I thought Joker's jokes were bad." Now it was Nygma's turn to scowl. "Anyway, if you hadn't noticed, I have a package that needs delivering." Ragdoll, once again with false cheeriness, gave a waggle of his fingers in a form of a wave. "Toodles!"

The Riddler, lips forming into a grin, hummed to himself as the scrawny thief exited from the building. It was then that he knew that he definitely was going to have fun in solving this 'little' conundrum.

* * *

Meanwhile, as the two conversed inside, Alice stood nervously by the door. Even though the streets were deserted, she couldn't help but fidget in her spot from anxiety. Just because it was deserted didn't mean that it would stay that way. Those men that had been chasing her had seemingly come out of nowhere when she'd been fleeing from that madman. The same case scenario, or something similar to it, could happen at any given moment.

_What is taking Mr. Merkel so long?_ Nervously, she wrung her hands together, gnawing gently on her lower lip. Should she go back inside and see what it was that was taking him so long?

Unless…

. . . Unless that man, Mr. Nygma, was asking him a riddle? Yes, yes, that's what was taking him so long, she concluded. Perhaps she shouldn't have left in such a hurry then? Even though the man seemed to be in a hurry himself? Should she have waited to make her exit until after Mr. Merkel had made his?

Too late now, though; she would feel silly for going back inside, especially if Mr. Merkel was about to leave and come walking out through that door at any moment…

No. No, it was better to stay where she was and just silently pray that he'd come out of there soon.

. . . That, or hope Garfield would miraculously show up as if it were a habit of his.

Alice let out a sigh and crossed her arms in an attempt to keep herself warm. The night's chilly air was biting and uncomfortable on her skin. (She found it rather curious how this world was so dark and gloomy. Was the weather here always like this, or was it fall here soon to become winter? Her brain made a mental note to remind her to ask Garfield that question once reunited with him.)

The young woman was instantly pulled away from her thoughts when something brushed up against her leg. Instantly her muscles began to tense up while her pulse quickened its pace. _Calm yourself, Alice. Surely it was just part of your imagination, deciding to play tricks on you, that's all. It's was just your imagination._ Wasn't it? Slowly, she glanced down, prepared to be proven correctly that it had been her imagination playing tricks on her.

And, instead of a shriek, breathed out a sigh in relief.

"Oh, why hello there!" Alice, squatting down to be closer to the cat, exclaimed with a small smile. The feline, with strange black markings on its orange fur, merely stared at her. Wait… "Aren't you that cat I saw earlier? Before Mr. Nygma, um… rescued me?" she asked, locks of brunette hair tumbling over her shoulder as her head tilted a bit to the side, studying the creature sitting before her. But what were the chances of it being the same cat? Surely it would have run off by now? Unless…

". . . Are you lost?"

The cat gave a low meow, as if it understood her and decided to give her its answer. Her eyes softened, suddenly reminded of her own feline companion back home and also of her own situation that she managed to get herself in, as she slowly extended a hand out to show the cat she meant no harm. Seconds, though it certainly felt more like hours, passed by when the cat decided that she had petted it enough.

With a twitch of its tail, the cat stood and walked away from her, heading towards an alley. Alice watched, curiosity spiking, when it halted in its tracks and looked back at her. Its tail gave two more twitches and gave a low meow, as if it were… losing patience with her? What? Was it trying to tell her something?

"Are you wanting me to… to follow you?" her gut instinct told her that that's what the cat was telling her to do, despite feeling rather silly. Looking back at her with its mesmerizing eyes, the cat dipped its head as if saying "yes". Hesitantly, giving a small shake of her head, Alice walked over and peered down the alley before looking down at her new found companion. Reason and logic joined forces and fought against this uncommon sense that seemed to be taking a hold of her.

"I…" The cat, intense eyes watching the girl's every movement, blinked once at her. "I-I can't, you see."

It gave – what sounded like – a questionable meow (as if asking her why she couldn't follow it) and cocked its head to the side when she knelt down before it, and gave a look of immense displeasure when suddenly scooped up in the girl's arms.

"Well, it's because this place isn't very safe. A-And I'm waiting here for someone, a…" she, trying to search for the right word, paused, "friend of a friend who's—"

"What," a voice stopped her mid-conversation with the cat, "are you doing?"

"O-Oh! M-Mr. Merkel!" His eyes remained trained on the feline that she held in her arms. Could that be…? Was that one of Kitten's, well, kittens? Or was it simply a stray (that she hadn't yet found)? And… wait. "I was just… well, you see, I… um…"

Were its eyes… _red?_

He blinked. That… That couldn't be right; cats did not have red eyes.

. . . Did they?

"Is it alright with you if I bring her along with us?"

"…" He couldn't remember ever seeing a cat with red eyes before. It just didn't seem natural, and this cat… There was definitely something very strange about this cat. And the longer he kept eye contact with the beast the creepier it seemed.

"I-It's just…" Alice averted her eyes and absentmindedly scratched the creature's ears. "Err, I mean, it just doesn't seem right to leave the poor thing here."

. . . Yep. OK. There definitely was something unnaturally freaky about this cat. (And this was coming from a triple-jointed contortionist no less!)

Maybe he should let her keep it, if only to later show it to Catwoman? That, and because it wasn't like it was going to be stuck with him. It would be Lynns' problem to deal with, as well as the girl. So… really, what was the harm in letting her keep it?

Or he could say "no" and force her to leave it here. It (might) result her in being so upset with him that, should Lynns need a babysitter for her again, she would outright refuse for it to be him.

. . . But then again, if he did let her keep it then Lynns might not be so happy. It may lead him to believe that he'd let her keep any and every stray animal she came across and thus result him "unfit" to babysit her. All this thinking was starting to make his head hurt. Two decisions with numerous possible outcomes. This really was a dilemma for him.

In the end, though, it was one thought – one specific person, really – that made up his mind for him.

"Fine, but if it runs away from you because it couldn't take any more of your smothering, don't come crying to me about it."

* * *

"Are you a hundred percent certain that you're alright?"

"Yes, Garfield; I'm a hundred percent certain." She couldn't help it but smile at him.

The two of them – she and Mr. Merkel – had arrived at Firefly's place at (pretty much) the exact same time that the arsonist did. It wasn't until after he ushered her inside his hideout (with Ragdoll in tow) and the door was locked that he started asking her – repeatedly – if she was OK. The pair hadn't yet gotten the chance in telling him where and who Alice had been with prior to Ragdoll finding her; Firefly even failed to take notice of (what Ragdoll, after it took a swipe at him when he pulled on one of its ears, dubbed as) the demonic cat calmly resting in her arms.

Ragdoll, having made himself at home, began to raid Lynns' kitchen cabinets to see what sorts of goodies the man had. After all, he did find Lynns' precious girlfriend and kept her from harm while on the stroll to said arsonist's hideout. It was only fair that he got something in return as some type of payment or reward, wasn't it? Of course it was.

. . . Not to mention that it saved him from having to witness the exchange occurring behind him.

"Look, Alice, I'm sorry about… y'know. And for not getting back on time. It was a stupid move on my part. I don't know what made me thought for a second that Crane would have been able to keep his friend in check. And… Are you sure you're OK? You're not hurt, are you?"

Unbeknownst to them, Ragdoll made a face. Ick. Quick, someone, anyone, gag him with a spoon! This sappy Firefly was making him feel ill just with how concerned he was for some (unlucky) girl that got plucked off the streets of Gotham City and dropped in here.

She nodded her head with a small hum. "Yes, I'm fine, Garfield. I promise." For an added effect she gave him a reassuring smile.

The pyromaniac studied her closely, examining every inch of her face, trying to see if she really was fine or if she was just saying that to make him feel better. Somehow he got the distinct feeling that it was more of the latter than the former. She seemed far more drained than anything else. Traces of dark circles were forming under her eyes, but this didn't exactly surprise him. It's not as if she had a restful (and peaceful) night's sleep since, well, before all this.

Softly, his right hand placing itself on the top of her head to give her, he told her that she should get some rest, and directed her to the bedroom before she could so much as protest; although she seemed somewhat reluctant to do so. It was only once the door to the bedroom closed that Firefly turned his attention to Ragdoll. "So, are you gonna give me the details or not?"

"I found her chatting idly away with the Riddler. Oh. That is, after he pulled her off the streets to keep a group of thugs from catching her, or so that's what she told me. "

". . . Nygma?"

"As far as I know, Nygma's the only one to go by that alias."

". . . Why would Nygma go out of his way to save—?"

"'Someone intellectually inferior compared to his superior mind'?" cue the usage of the quoting-fingers. "I haven't a clue what motivated him to save her, and I wouldn't have thought to ask him that question if I had known about it prior." A pregnant pause. "No, wait, I lied. I wouldn't have asked him even if I had known he'd rescued her from some lowlifes."

Scowling, Garfield rolled his eyes, at his associate. "Fine. But do explain to me why you let her bring back a stray cat."

"Oh, so you did notice it…"

"_Ragdoll_."

He shrugged, "I figured you'd be upset with me if I told she couldn't keep it."

"I'm upset with you right now!"

"Hmm… So I should not have let your girlfriend keep it?"

". . ." Oh, if only looks could kill…

In the next room with eyes closed, Alice blindly petted the cat curled up next to her on the bed, hearing the two men's muffled voices from the other room drift off as she slipped into unconsciousness. It was too hard to resist the want to sleep, seeing as how comfortable the bed was, and how nice and warm Garfield's apartment was. Besides, no one could blame her for falling asleep, could they? She'd been through quite a lot in the past few hours and it had been a couple of days since she had a good night's rest. (Although she would feel bad for not staying awake to bide Mr. Merkel a good-bye once she awoke.)

So, when she felt that familiar tug pull on her consciousness, she knew it was time to wake up.

The place was eerily quiet, and it didn't register until she stood that the cat was nowhere to be found. Had Garfield gone out while she was asleep? The thought that he had left her alone while she was deep in sleep didn't sit all that well with her. Perhaps he had fallen asleep on the couch? That was possible, and a much more comforting thought to her.

Mm-hmm, that was probably it.

She walked, stealthily as she could, over to the bedroom door to take a peek. If Garfield was asleep then she didn't want to wake him. Slowly, trying to stay quiet, she pulled the door back and expected (more like hoped) to find the blond asleep on the couch.

. . . But instead of finding a sleeping Garfield Lynns on the couch, Alice was startled to find a man… no, a _boy_… sitting there instead…

. . .

With a _very_ familiar orange, with strange stripe-markings decorating its fur, kitty-cat perched comfortably in his lap.

"Hello, Alice. It's so very nice to finally meet you in person."

* * *

End of Author's Notes:

I'm so, so, so happy that Eddie's now made his grand appearance! :D (And kudos to those of you that guessed it was him! :D) I had this scene of him and Alice collecting dust for a few years now and SQUEE. It's finally posted now; although originally I had planned on having it be chapter sixteen with Dr. Crane finding Alice instead of Ragdoll, but over the course of time my plot bunnies have developed new ideas.

. . . Especially now that _Batman: Arkham Origins_ has been released. Seriously, that game. THAT GAME MAN. IT IS MADE OF AWESOME. I wasn't expecting to come out with Roman Sionis/Black Mask feels, but I did. Won't say what made it so because of spoilers. But man, I just want to give the guy a hug. (And that reminds me, I love Eddie's look in _Arkham Origins_. Like, a _lot_. So don't be surprised that I'll be imaging/(possibly) using his younger, less grimy appearance throughout the story here.)

Err, sorry, getting off track here. *clears throat* . . . Anyway…

In _The Batman (2004-2008)_ episode, "_Ragdolls to Riches_", Rags calls Catwoman "Kitten" and so I like to think that that's one of his nicknames he uses for her. (Another being "Precious".) And in my headcanon, Peter Merkel/Ragdoll has a crush on Selina Kyle/Catwoman; although at first he hadn't known Selina Kyle was Catwoman so he just thought he had a crush on two people but (ha-ha nope) turns out he hadn't been crushing on two separate people after all. XD

And for those of you wondering, that is the same kitty-cat that Alice saw at the end of the last chapter. And now we're finally going to see just who that kitty-cat belongs to… Kudos to any and all of those who are able to figure it out! :D

Many thanks to TChompi21, Wandering dude 1, and KoK for the lovely reviews! :)

Hope you all enjoyed this lengthy chapter and that it was worth the wait. And remember: reviews (and constructive criticism) are always welcomed with open arms. :)


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